Stretching from Point Loma to San Clemente Island, these waters form the Navy's primary West Coast trial ground. Carrier strike groups rehearse deployments here while submarines cycle through Ballast Point piers.
Nearby installations include Naval Base San Diego for surface combatants, North Island Naval Air Station for fixed-wing aviation, and Naval Base Point Loma for undersea warfare training.123
2004 Tic Tac intercept
During November 2004 Composite Training Unit Exercise the USS Nimitz group tracked an oblong object that descended from 80,000 ft and maneuvered with no observable propulsion. F/A-18 crews from VFA-41 visually engaged the craft south-west of Point Loma before it accelerated beyond sensor coverage. See the detailed event file for timeline and sources.45
2019 drone swarm and USS Russell footage
Between March and July 2019 destroyers operating 30–70 nm off San Diego logged sustained quad-copter incursions. On 15 July sailors aboard USS Russell filmed triangular lights through night-vision optics; bokeh effects produced the pyramid shape later highlighted by media. Deck logs show at least eight ships experienced coordinated overflights exceeding commercial drone endurance.6789
The Navy Criminal Investigative Service traced several of the drone sorties to the bulk carrier MV Bass Strait. In response, fleet commanders accelerated the deployment of portable counter-UAS jammers and laser dazzlers. The case became a reference point during the 2022 Congressional hearings on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
Pattern of activity
Sensor data supplied to the UAP Task Force lists more than 60 anomalous tracks within this operating box since 2004, clustering near weapons release zones and drone corridors. Persistent military presence, layered radars, and clear atmospheric conditions combine to make the region a recording hotspot.
Subsequent Leaks
Radar logs and infrared footage leaked later, spurring the Pentagon's AATIP program.101112