Situated within warning areas W-122 and W-72, this stretch of the western Atlantic spans roughly 60–160 nautical miles east of Jacksonville and Cape Canaveral. Depths drop sharply beyond the continental shelf, providing uncongested airspace and sea room for carrier strike groups during pre-deployment workups.
Operational Use
Strike-fighter squadrons conduct air-to-air manoeuvres, live-fire missile shoots, electronic warfare drills, and composite training unit exercises inside this range. P-8A patrol aircraft prosecute submarine targets while Aegis cruisers track missile telemetry, creating an unusually data-rich environment for flight testing.
Sensor and Surveillance Environment
Coverage includes AN/SPY-1 shipboard radar, E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning, surface-based AN/TPS-75, and ATFLIR pods on F/A-18E/F jets. These overlapping systems yield continuous tracks from sea level to the upper stratosphere, allowing post-mission correlation of optical, radar, and infrared data.
2015 UAP Events
Between January and March 2015 F/A-18F crews from VFA-11 and sister squadrons repeatedly observed anomalous objects lacking exhaust plumes yet remaining airborne for extended periods. Two engagements—codenamed Gimbal and GoFast—were recorded on 21 January and early February at altitudes near 25,000 ft; the videos reached public release through the Department of Defense in 2020.12 See the USS Theodore Roosevelt encounters for pilot statements.
Aircrew also filed a hazard report after a metallic sphere encasing a cube crossed the flight path between two Hornets separated by scarcely thirty metres.3
Safety Reports and Naval Policy
The near-collision triggered Class-A mishap documentation and a chain of Command Safety Investigation Reports. In April 2019 the Navy issued NAVADMIN 089/19, standardising UAP reporting procedures and directing immediate submission to the Naval Intelligence UAP cell.4
Persistent Anomalous Activity
Pilots operating from the same warning areas in 2019 captured additional infrared footage, confirming that unconventional tracks continue despite radar and identification-friend-or-foe upgrades.5