Documents / Official release

Office of the Secretary of Defense: 08_Go_Fast

Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense. · 2023 · 26 pages · text from the file's own layer

This All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) case resolution from the U.S. Department of Defense is dated February 2025. It covers the "Go Fast" FLIR video, which a U.S. Navy F/A-18F recorded off Florida in January 2015. AARO found the object was at about 13,000 feet and moving between 5 and 92 mph once wind is accounted for. It assesses with high confidence that the object showed no anomalous performance and attributes the apparent high speed to motion parallax. A technical appendix explains the calculations.

UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
U.S. Department of Defense
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 Behavior: Moved at high speeds
near the ocean’s surface
Assessed Behavior: An object moving
between 5 and 92 mph at approximately
13,000 feet
Summary of Findings: High confidence
the object did not demonstrate anomalous
performance characteristics
All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Chief of Staff, AARO
Authority: FY24 NDAA, now codified at 44 U.S.C. 2107
Date: 2/14/2025
Released in Full: X
Case Number: 330UAP00000808Page determined to be Unclassified
Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO
IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841(a)(1)(C)
Date: 2/14/2025

Cases discussed

About this file

Official release, from the nara collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 26 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.