{"type":"events","slug":"2021-uss-kearsarge-encounters","title":"USS Kearsarge Encounters","url":"https://disclosdex.com/events/2021-uss-kearsarge-encounters","description":"During 2021 drills unexplained lights tailed USS Kearsarge despite jamming attempts, prompting competing drone and UAP theories","date":"2021-10-03T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Sighting"],"updated":"2025-06-13T13:26:43.000Z","disclosureRating":3,"status":"unresolved","lat":36.8508,"lng":-75.9779,"connectionCount":2,"content":{"markdown":"During a U.S. Marine Corps exercise, crew aboard [USS Kearsarge](/locations/naval-station-norfolk) observed lights maneuvering around the ship at night. The objects reportedly dodged counter-drone measures and returned over several days.\n\n## Operational context\n\nKearsarge was conducting _PHIBRON-MEU Integrated Training_ in the W-122 warning area off North Carolina. Marine Low Altitude Air Defense platoons parked _Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System_ trucks on the flight deck — each vehicle carried RADA RPS-42 radar and the _Modi_ electronic-warfare jammer intended to disable small uncrewed aircraft.\n\n## Initial sightings\n\nOn 18 October 2021 deck watch standers reported two luminous spheres pacing the ship approximately 0.5 nautical miles astern at roughly 200 feet. Logs describe \"shackle turns\"—the pair repeatedly crossed paths while matching the ship's 20-knot course. Similar returns were logged on successive nights until 26 October.\n\n| Action                                         | Result                                                |\n| ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |\n| LMADIS crews attempted directed-energy jamming | Targets were unaffected                               |\n| Hand-held \"Ghostbusters\" rifle jammers used    | No observable effect                                  |\n| SNOOPIE photo teams recorded infrared video    | Failed to obtain a range using the Wescam FLIR turret |\n\nUnclassified PowerPoint slides later released under FOIA show radar skin-paints marked as _UAS UNKNOWN_ and video stills of twin orbs lacking strobe patterns required on conventional aircraft.[^6] The slides note zero acoustic signature and no Mode 3A or ADS-B transponder replies.\n\n## Competing assessments\n\nNaval intelligence officers pointed to commercial multirotor platforms launched from nearby support vessels. _War Zone_ writers Adam Kehoe and Marc Cecotti highlighted similarities with 2019 drone swarms off California, stressing Kearsarge's proximity to busy shipping lanes where hobbyist or covert ISR drones could operate.[^1]\n\nFilmmaker Dave Beaty published interviews with a retired Marine aviator who characterised the lights as \"car-sized balls\" immune to electronic attack, suggesting exotic propulsion.[^2]\n\nSkeptic Mick West argued the limited data — lights of unknown distance over a moving deck at night — allows for misidentification of distant aircraft whose nav lights appear stationary. He notes prior cases where pilots mistook high-altitude airliners for low-altitude drones.[^7]\n\n| Name                          | Role/Description                                 |\n| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |\n| Col. Dennis Sampson USMC      | 22nd MEU commander overseeing air-defense drills |\n| Cdr. Christopher Ehrhardt USN | Kearsarge commanding officer                     |\n| Dave Beaty                    | Independent researcher who surfaced the story    |\n| Mick West                     | Analyst providing alternative explanations       |\n\n## Status\n\nBy February 2022 the Navy forwarded all materials to the _Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force._ No public attribution followed. As of 2025 the episode remains unresolved, split between mundane drone theories and advocates citing performance outside known capabilities.\n\n## Investigation\n\nThe Navy collected logs and sensor data, forwarding information to the UAP Task Force. No source was identified publicly, leaving the incidents unresolved. [^1][^2][^3][^4][^5][^6][^7]\n\n[^1]: [Dave Beaty: The 2021 USS Kearsarge Sightings](https://davebeaty.medium.com/the-2021-uss-kearsarge-sightings-fc83076822ef)\n\n[^2]: [Newsweek coverage](https://www.newsweek.com/navy-warship-surrounded-strange-drones-1767270)\n\n[^3]: [Task & Purpose article](https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-ufo-uss-kearsarge-uap/)\n\n[^4]: [Military.com report](https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/10/18/navy-ufo-task-force-investigating-drones-around-ships.html)\n\n[^5]: [The Black Vault: USS Kearsarge UAP encounter document release](https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/heavily-redacted-uss-kearsarge-uap-encounter-document-released/)\n\n[^6]: [FOIA-released USS Kearsarge briefing slides](https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/DON-USMC-2022-006943.pdf)\n\n[^7]: [Mick West, 'Quick Guide to Modern Video Analysis for UAP'](https://skepticalinquirer.org/2024/12/quick-guide-to-modern-video-analysis-techniques-for-uap-and-ufos/)","readingTime":"3 min read"},"relatedRecords":[{"ref":{"type":"locations","slug":"naval-station-norfolk","title":"Naval Station Norfolk","url":"https://disclosdex.com/locations/naval-station-norfolk"},"direction":"mutual","weight":2}],"citation":{"canonicalUrl":"https://disclosdex.com/events/2021-uss-kearsarge-encounters","title":"USS Kearsarge Encounters","publisher":"Disclosdex","retrievedFrom":"https://disclosdex.com/api/v1/events/2021-uss-kearsarge-encounters","license":"CC-BY-4.0"},"witnesses":["Sailors"],"evidence":["documents"]}