Gimbal Infrared Video – "SR-71" Perspective

The "Gimbal" clip, captured by a VFA-11 Red Rippers Super Hornet east of Jacksonville, Florida, depicts a luminous oval target that appears to yaw 90° while maintaining forward velocity. In fighter culture the stark white plume evoked the look of an SR-71 in burner, inspiring the shorthand label seen in Navy ready-room briefings.

Key Observations

Parameter	ATFLIR Symbology / Analysis
Time (UTC)	2015-01-21 ≈ 23:14:15
Slant range	≈ 4.4 nmi (via AZ/EL triangulation with aircraft INS)
LOS rate	<2 °/s – consistent with moderate turn, not hyper-maneuver
Target speed (min)	≈ 120 kt ground-track
Apparent roll	51–57 ° – coincides with gimbal-limit of turret, not craft
IR signature	High-temperature aft sector; no cold leading edge

Timeline

Local time	Event
23:13:57	ATFLIR acquires lock on radar-designated unknown at ≈ 32 000 ft.
23:14:10	Oval image steadies; hot exhaust-like plume visible trailing object.
23:14:18	Sensor reaches cross-pivot limit; to maintain LOS the turret rolls, producing the dramatic flip in the video.
23:14:26	Target exits sensor FOV left; crew terminate track as fuel state nears bingo.

Competing Hypotheses

School	Core Claim	Representative Sources
Extraordinary craft	Lift/propulsion unknown; rotation intentional; lack of control surfaces implies non-human technology.	Graves 2021; Elizondo
Jet exhaust illusion	Object is distant twin-engine jet on afterburner; rotation artefact from turret roll & atmospheric shear.	West 2019; DOD AARO
Electronic warfare spoof	False radar/IR track injected to test fleet sensor fusion resilience.	Anonymous EW SME

Evidence Packet

Category	Details
ATFLIR video	34-s Forward-Looking Infra-Red (640×480) sequence, declassified 2020-04-27.
Cockpit audio	"Look at that thing bro!" – excited commentary contrasts with relatively sedate kinematics.
APG-79 radar	Multi-frame tracks matched ATFLIR LOS; raw HDF data classified, parametric summary leaked 2019.
Weather	Upper-air winds 260°/35 kt @ 31 000 ft; explains drift path if balloon target.

Assessment

The SR-71 analogy underscores the object's strong mid-IR emission, but reproduction trials show a distant F-15 or F-16 on AB yields an almost identical bloom at equivalent zoom and color-scale. Meanwhile frame-meta indicates the sudden 90° rotation aligns perfectly with the ATFLIR's mechanical stop: as the turret rolls, the horizon jumps, giving the illusion the target pivots.

Nevertheless, radar corroboration and repeated fleet sightings argue against simple mis-ID. Without release of raw range-gated data, the case remains technically unresolved.

Command Palette