USS Princeton and Nimitz Carrier Strike Group Encounters

Record summary

In November 2004, personnel associated with the USS Princeton and the USS Nimitz reported unusual radar and airborne observations during training exercises off Southern California. Navy aviators described a small white “Tic Tac”-like object, and an infrared video later became publicly known as FLIR1. The episode matters for comparing firsthand aviation testimony, radar interpretation, sensor limitations, and later official review. The U.S. government has acknowledged the videos as genuine recordings of unidentified phenomena, but that acknowledgment does not establish the object’s nature or validate every later reconstruction of the event.