Go Fast
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UNCLASSIFIED 08 All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office U.S. Department of Defense CLEARED For Open Publication Feb 06, 2025 Department of Defense OFFICE OF PREPUBLICATION AND SECURITY REVIEW
Case: "Go Fast" Case Resolution | February 6, 2025
**Case Overview** In January 2015, a U.S. Navy F/A-18F pilot recorded an object using a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensor about 13,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
The video appeared to show the object moving at high speed. AARO cannot definitively identify the object, but it displayed no anomalous performance characteristics.
The Department of Defense officially released the "Go Fast" video in 2020. It is available for public viewing at the Navy's FOIA Reading Room.
**Key Findings** AARO assesses with high confidence that the object did not move at anomalous speeds. AARO's analysis showed: - The object's altitude was approximately 13,000 feet. - The object's speed ranged from about 32 m/s (72 mph) to 72 m/s (161 mph) depending on its heading relative to the wind. Compensating for the wind's contribution to the object's speed, its approximate speed range is 2 m/s (5 mph) to 41.3 m/s (92 mph). - The object's heading deviated as much as 32° from wind direction, though most simulations conducted during AARO’s analysis showed significantly less difference. The object did not move against the wind in any simulation.
**Case Essentials** Location: Eastern coast of Florida Date: January 2015 Object Altitude (reported): Near ocean’s surface Object Altitude (assessed): 13,000 feet Object Speed (reported): Appeared to move at high speeds Object Speed (assessed): 5 mph - 92 mph Object Shape (reported): Round Object Shape (assessed): Spherical or oblate ellipsoid
Reporter: U.S. Navy
Sensor: Forward Looking Infrared
Reported…
Page excerpts
- Page 1 UNCLASSIFIED 08 All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office U.S. Department of Defense CLEARED For Open Publication Feb 06, 2025 Department of Defense OFFICE OF PREPUBLICATION AND SECURITY REVIEW Case: "Go…
- Page 2 UNCLASSIFIED 08 Determining the object's true speed and direction of travel (heading) requires knowing the F/A-18F's heading. AARO calculated the object's speed and heading relative to the aircraft…
- Page 3 UNCLASSIFIED Figure 2: The y-axis represents the difference between the object's heading and the wind direction at 13,000 feet. The x-axis represents the wind's heading relative to the F/A-18F's…
- Page 4 UNCLASSIFIED reference. The more quickly an observer moves relative to an observed object, the more pronounced this effect is. Data Quality and Methodology AARO analyzed the publicly available…
- Page 5 UNCLASSIFIED Appendix A: Estimating UAP Location, Speed, and Heading from “Go Fast” FLIR Video Data February 2025 Introduction In 2024, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) estimated…
- Page 6 UNCLASSIFIED Data The only data available to AARO from the "Go Fast" event were from a compressed Windows Media File (.wmv) [ref 4]. The recording's metadata does not contain the F/A-18's…
- Page 7 UNCLASSIFIED Table I contains the data extracted from the video footage at t1 and t2. Range and altitude were converted to metric units to maintain consistency in calculations. The F/A-18 bank angle…
- Page 8 UNCLASSIFIED Figure 4: The three axes defined relative to an air platform in FMV analysis. Longitudinal is the +x, Transverse is the +y, and Vertical is the +z (pointing down). This coordinate system…
- Page 9 UNCLASSIFIED 08 elevation and denoted by β; the angle of rotation about the z-axis is the “left and right” motion due to aircraft yaw or sensor pointing azimuth and denoted by γ. For this FLIR…
- Page 10 UNCLASSIFIED = [7408·cos(-29°) + 0·0 + 0·sin(-29°)] [7408·-sin(-29°) + 0·1 + 0·0] [7408·-sin(-29°) + 0·0 + 0·cos(-29°)] = [6479] [3591] Next, the vector result from (4d) was rotated about the z-axis…