On April 27, 2020, the Department of Defense authorized public release of three unclassified Navy videos commonly known as FLIR, GIMBAL, and GOFAST, stating that the public-domain clips were genuine Navy videos and that the observed aerial phenomena remained unidentified.123
Origin
The source events began with Navy sensor recordings rather than with the 2020 press release: DoD described one video as taken in November 2004 and two as taken in January 2015, while later Navy-attributed statements identified the observation dates as November 14, 2004, for FLIR and January 21, 2015, for GIMBAL and GOFAST.145
The public story followed an irregular path. The 2004 Nimitz clip circulated online after an unauthorized 2007 release, and the three-video package reached a much wider audience through December 2017 reporting and To The Stars Academy publication before DoD made any general public release.46
FOIA records later clarified the release dispute. DoD talking points said earlier DOPSR paperwork supported release to government and industry research partners, but did not grant final approval for general public release; a NAVAIR-released email chain also shows government offices reviewing FLIR1 and GoFast for classification and public-release concerns in March 2018.47
Who stated and observed
The formal authentication came from DoD Public Affairs, which said the Navy had previously acknowledged the circulating files as Navy videos and that review found the public release would not reveal sensitive capabilities, expose systems, or interfere with later UAP airspace-incursion investigations.14
On the Navy side, Joseph Gradisher, then spokesperson for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, gave attributable 2019 statements that the Navy considered the objects in the videos unidentified aerial phenomena, had not publicly released characterizations or hypotheses, and had not previously released the videos to the general public.56
The observing personnel were Navy aircrew associated with F/A-18 sensor footage from the USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt operating areas, but the 2020 release did not identify individual operators, publish raw telemetry, or provide full investigative case files.1234
How evolved
The release turned a contested leak-and-media story into an official-authentication event. After DoD's April 27 statement, the three files appeared in the Naval Air Systems Command FOIA document library, with GOFAST and GIMBAL listed on the first page and FLIR.mp4 listed on the following page.123
Internal DoD talking points released through FOIA framed the timing as the end of a long review process, noted repeated FOIA interest in the videos, and said the posted clips were the complete public video files for all three cases.4
The story therefore evolved from cockpit clips presented by former officials and media outlets, to Navy acknowledgment that the files depicted UAP, to DoD's formal 2020 release with a narrow conclusion: the videos were authentic Navy imagery, but the objects remained officially unidentified.1456
Evidence and limits
The strongest evidence for this event is not the imagery alone, but the administrative chain around it: DoD's release statement, NAVAIR's hosted files, Navy-attributed public-affairs statements, and FOIA packets documenting review, messaging, and release rationale.123457
Authentication did not equal identification. DoD and Navy statements confirmed provenance and public-release status, but they did not disclose classified sensor data, assign origin, or validate extraordinary-performance interpretations often attached to the clips.145