{"type":"events","slug":"2019-uss-russel--night-vision","title":"USS Russel Encounters","url":"https://disclosdex.com/events/2019-uss-russel--night-vision","description":"Night-vision footage of triangular lights above USS Russell sparked investigation into 2019 Pacific drone swarm","date":"2019-07-15T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Sighting"],"updated":"2025-06-13T13:26:43.000Z","disclosureRating":6,"status":"unresolved","lat":32.533,"lng":-117.116,"connectionCount":0,"content":{"markdown":"During evening training operations west of San Diego, sailors aboard destroyer _USS Russell_ recorded green-tinted video showing three luminous triangles hovering above the water.[^1] The shapes, produced by an out-of-focus lens, nevertheless triggered a formal Navy investigation into an apparently coordinated swarm of small unmanned aircraft operating around multiple warships.[^2]\n\n## Drone swarm context\n\nFrom March through July 2019 at least eight Navy vessels reported persistent quadcopter activity in the Southern California operating area.[^3] On 14-15 July _Russell_, _Bunker Hill_, _Paul Hamilton_, and _Ralph Johnson_ logged hours-long overflights at altitudes up to 700 feet.[^4] Deck logs, FLIR captures, and AN/SPY-1 tracks documented objects maneuvering well beyond typical hobby-drone endurance.\n\n## Timeline\n\n| Date & Time      | Ship(s) Involved    | Event Description                                                                       |\n| ---------------- | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| 2019-03-30       | _USS Harpers Ferry_ | Notes eight drones 500 ft overhead.                                                     |\n| 2019-04-24       | _USS Zumwalt_       | Photographs six quadcopters crossing its flight deck.                                   |\n| 2019-07-14 22:00 | _Kidd_              | Initial swarm detected near San Clemente Island; _Kidd_ enters EMCON.                   |\n| 2019-07-15 19:56 | _Russell_           | SNOOPIE team begins filming triangular lights seen through night-vision goggles.        |\n| 2019-07-15 20:50 | Multiple ships      | Report drones circling at distances under 200 yds; radar obtains 21 kft tracks.         |\n| 2019-07-17       | _Russell_           | Again encounters three UAS 62 nm SW of San Nicolas Island.                              |\n| 2019-07-30       | _Russell_           | Five drones overfly _Russell_ for three hours; DRAKE electronic-warfare team activated. |\n\n## Investigation\n\nShip logs, radio-frequency captures, and FOIA-released briefings link several sightings to Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier _MV Bass Strait_, believed to be conducting intelligence collection.[^6] Counter-UAS drills followed, including live 5-inch gunnery and deployment of handheld \"ghostbuster\" jammers. The Pentagon later confirmed the night-vision video was genuine Navy imagery under UAP Task Force review.[^5]\n\n## Optics and identification\n\nNaval Intelligence briefers concluded the triangular outline resulted from the camera's bokeh effect; the actual craft were conventional multirotor drones displaying navigation strobes. No evidence of extraordinary performance was recorded.\n\n## Significance\n\nThe 2019 incidents highlighted the fleet's limited organic counter-drone capacity near home waters and prompted accelerated fielding of portable jammers and directed-energy systems. Congressional UAP hearings cited the case as a solved example in which sensor correlation and follow-on swarms enabled positive identification.[^7]\n\n## Incident dossier\n\n| Name           | Role/Contribution                                                                                                                               |\n| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| Jeremy Corbell | Filmmaker who obtained and released the night-vision clip along with deck-log excerpts.[^8]                                                     |\n| George Knapp   | Investigative journalist who corroborated provenance of the material through FOIA filings.                                                      |\n| Sue Gough      | Pentagon spokeswoman who confirmed the video and accompanying images were captured by Navy personnel.[^9]                                       |\n| Scott Bray     | Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence who cited the case as a resolved drone event during a 2022 congressional briefing.[^8]                    |\n| Mick West      | Science communicator who provided a public technical breakdown attributing the triangular lights to defocused commercial aircraft strobes.[^10] |\n\n## Analysis\n\nSNOOPIE teams aboard _USS Russell_ recorded the footage on 15 July 2019. Surface-search radar tracked up to eleven quadcopters manoeuvring to 21 000 ft, while AN/SPY-1 logs captured persistent returns over four hours.[^8]\n\nSubsequent FOIA releases include deck logs, DRAKE jammer activation records, and bridge voice reports. Separate Navy photographs depict _MV Bass Strait_, a Hong Kong-flagged bulker suspected of acting as a control platform during two of the swarm nights.[^11]\n\nOptical experts note that Gen-3 night-vision goggles fitted with a triangular aperture produce the \"pyramid\" shape when bright point sources fall outside focus. Frame-by-frame speed, flash sequence, and star background align with a Boeing 737 on approach to Los Angeles International.[^10]\n\nThe UAP Task Force therefore catalogued the episode as an identified drone/aircraft event rather than unexplained phenomena.[^8]\n\n[^1]: https://www.mysterywire.com/ufo/uap-pyramid-shape/\n\n[^2]: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-video-shows-pyramid-shaped-ufos-2019-n1264010\n\n[^3]: https://www.twz.com/44231/navy-releases-timeline-for-2019-uas-swarm-involving-warships-off-california\n\n[^4]: https://www.twz.com/43561/mysterious-drone-swarms-over-navy-destroyers-off-california-went-on-for-weeks\n\n[^5]: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ufo-pyramid-shaped/\n\n[^6]: https://www.twz.com/drone-swarms-that-harassed-navy-ships-demystified-in-new-documents\n\n[^7]: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG05/20220517/114761/HHRG-117-IG05-Transcript-20220517.pdf\n\n[^8]: https://www.twz.com/drone-swarms-that-harassed-navy-ships-demystified-in-new-documents\n\n[^9]: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ufo-pyramid-shaped/\n\n[^10]: https://www.metabunk.org/threads/green-pyramid-ufos-in-night-vision-footage-are-bokeh.11695/\n\n[^11]: https://www.twz.com/drone-swarms-that-harassed-navy-ships-demystified-in-new-documents","readingTime":"4 min read"},"relatedRecords":[],"citation":{"canonicalUrl":"https://disclosdex.com/events/2019-uss-russel--night-vision","title":"USS Russel Encounters","publisher":"Disclosdex","retrievedFrom":"https://disclosdex.com/api/v1/events/2019-uss-russel--night-vision","license":"CC-BY-4.0"},"witnesses":["Sailors"],"evidence":["film","documents","radar"]}