Gulf Coast Submarine Alert 2014

On July 22, 2014, a US Navy P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft crew conducting Gulf of Mexico operations observed a small orb-shaped object in aerial flight at low altitude make a controlled descent to the ocean surface and submerge cleanly with no splash or wake consistent with a conventional object impact. The P-8's acoustic sensors and FLIR cameras documented the event. SOSUS hydrophone arrays in the Gulf subsequently detected a transient acoustic contact moving below the surface at speeds and in patterns inconsistent with any known submarine or torpedo. A US Navy submarine was tasked to investigate the contact area but reported no identifiable contact after extended search operations. The P-8 crew's footage was classified and routed through Naval Air Forces Atlantic command. The incident was part of a series of Gulf of Mexico transmedium observations that AATIP researchers compiled into a special report on USO (Unidentified Submerged Object) activity in the region, noting that the Gulf's shallow continental shelf provided numerous documented transmedium transition points.