Navy Pilot Reports Detailing Mysterious Aircraft Sightings Off The East Coast

Just recently, there was a thread on ATS about a YouTube skeptic, who thought the Navy UFO videos showing strange, "tic-tac" shaped UFOs, were nothing but misidentified "birds."

Yesterday, a very detailed and informative article was posted by The War Zone, which was about recently released unclassified Navy documentation on Navy pilot reports "of encounters with unidentified craft flying in restricted airspace off the east coast."

As you will find out, these reports aren't about "bird" sightings, but rather on unidentified objects "of a very terrestrial nature."

The War Zone obtained the eight hazard reports, all of which are marked "Unclassified" and "For Official Use Only," via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Naval Safety Center. Seven of them involve F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and occurred at various times between 2013 and 2014 in a patch of airspace off the coast of Virginia and North Carolina known as the W-72 warning area. The eighth incidents took place in 2019 and involved an EA-18G Growler flying in a different portion of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maryland called the W-386 warning area.

>Please note that all bold quotes and inserted content, posted in this thread, comes from this link: The War Zone. Copies of each report can also be viewed at this link. Here's a brief synopsis of those eight reports:

#1, June 27, 2013: F/A-18F Super Hornet, Strike Fighter Squadron 11:

On June 27, 2013, an F/A-18F Super Hornet flying out of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia had an encounter with an "aircraft [that] was white in color and approximately the size and shape of a drone or missile." This object "was climbing and had a visible exhaust trail."

Neither the Super Hornet nor NAS Oceana recorded a radar track of the object. Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, abbreviated in the report CSFWL, "contacted operating units but no one reported operations of this nature." Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, Virginia Capes (FASCFAC VACAPES) "reviewed radar tapes and no aircraft was indentified [sic] or noted in the area."

#2, Nov. 18, 2013: F/A-18E Super Hornet, Strike Fighter Squadron 143

An F/A-18E Super Hornet flying out of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, spotted an object at 12,000 ft.

"The aircraft had an approximately 5-foot wingspan and was colored white with no other distinguishable features," according to the pilot who was able to visually acquire the object and tracked it for an hour.

This report says that the Navy concluded that this object was an unmanned aerial system (UAS), but that Commander, Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic and Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, Virginia Capes (FASCFAC VACAPES), the latter of which is also identified here by its callsign Giant Killer, was not able to ascertain the operator.

this report notes that "surface traffic was light with only a single stationary commercial fishing trawler and a single unidentified US Naval vessel traveling south" during the incident, but that "the identity of the Naval vessel in the vicinity was undetermined."

#3, Nov. 18, 2013: F/A-18E Super Hornet, Strike Fighter Squadron 143

This report is the same as the one above it, "but is confirmation from the pilot of a second F/A-18E Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 143 (VFA-143) that they saw the same object at roughly the same position."

#4, Mar. 26, 2014: F/A-18E Super Hornet, Strike Fighter Squadron 106

This report is on a F/A-18E Super Hornet that "detected a possible radar track at around 19,000 feet and with a speed of 0.1 Mach. The pilot's wingman did not have the object on radar and there was a debate about whether it might be a false track given high winds, gusting at over 100 knots at 18,000 feet."

"The unknown aircraft appeared to be small in size, approximately the size of a suitcase, and silver in color," according to the report. The pilot was only able to pass within 1,000 feet of it and could not identify it. After that pass, they lost sight of it and never regained visual contact.

This report notes that Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, Virginia Capes (FASCFAC VACAPES) again did not spot this object on its radar screens.

A commanding officer from this Strike Fighter Squadron stated that this incident "presents a significant safety concern, given that this unknown aircraft was detected in an exclusive use area."

#5, Apr. 23, 2014: F/A-18F Super Hornet, Strike Fighter Squadron 11

This report is on a F/A-18F Super Hornet that "had an encounter with multiple "unidentified aerial devices" (UAD)."

The crew initially detected two UADs on radar, one at 12,000 feet and another at 15,000 feet, both apparently stationary or near-stationary at 0.0 Mach. They then confirmed both of these objects using the jet's Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) system.

While investigating the first pair of UADs, another two appeared to pass through the ATFLIR field of vision at high-speed. The two moving objects did not appear on the aircraft's radar.

In addition, the VFA-11 commander noted that this was the second instance in 10 months that one of the aircraft's squadron had had such an encounter.

The VFA-11 commander also stated "Although this report is primarily submitted for tracking purposes, it is only a matter of time before this results in a midair [collision]."

#6, Apr. 24, 2014: Two F/A-18F Super Hornets, Strike Fighter Squadron 11

On Apr. 24, 2014, within a day of the F/A-18F Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11) having its encounter with four "unidentified aerial devices" (UAD), two more F/A-18Fs made radar contact with another UAD in the W-72 warning area while conducting Basic Fighter Maneuvering (BFM aka dogfighting) out of Naval Air Station Oceana. Both aircraft were able to maintain a radar track with the object, which was stationary or near-stationary at 0.0 Mach at 11,000 feet. The aircraft were also able to lock onto the object with their CATM-9Xs, a captive-carry training version of the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.

a reply to: shawmanfromny

#7, Apr. 27, 2014: F/A-18F Super Hornet, Strike Fighter Squadron 11

On Apr. 27, 2014, for the third time in five days, the crew of a F/A-18F from Strike Fighter Squadron 11 (VFA-11), flying out of NAS Ocean and operating in the W-72 warning area, reported encountering an unknown aerial device. This report is the most spartan in its details of the three, but describes a "near mid-air collision with balloon like object."

This is a notably more serious report than the other two from April 2014. It is also the first to give any kind of substantive description of the object, one that would match up with the two previous reports of stationary or near-stationary UADs at high-altitude in the W-72 warning area.

#8, Feb. 13, 2019: EA-18G Growler, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23

On Feb. 13, 2019, nearly five years after the last recorded encounter with an unidentified object in the Naval Safety Center's databases, the crew of an EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23), flying out Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland and conducting activities in the W-386 warning area, visually spotted what they specifically described as "a red weather balloon" at 27,000 feet.

Neither Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility, Virginia Capes (FASCFAC VACAPES), again referred to by its callsign Giant Killer, nor the Echo Control team responsible for overseeing operations in the Atlantic Test Ranges off the coast, were aware of any scheduled balloon activity.

Even though there are only these eight “official” flight incident reports, describing Navy encounters with unidentified objects and balloons, there are also “Navy pilots, on and off the record, who have said that these kinds of sightings over the Atlantic were occurring frequently between 2014 and 2015.”

In addition, The War Zone obtained a copy of a report of another incident involving an F/A-18E Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106) that occurred on March 13, 2018:

In conclusion, this article points out three undeniable facts that come from these eight hazard reports:

1) What these Navy pilots saw along the East coast were not extraterrestrial in origin. They were unidentified drones and/or balloons.

2) ”There isn't any proof here of extremely exotic flying craft or saucers with amazing kinematic performance."

3) There is “proof” however, that there should be a “national security concern” over these incidents that involve unidentified objects entering “in such sensitive airspace," and that "It is not the Navy's job to police America's airspace, it is the Air Force's.”

Very well-put together & detailed posting. Thank you

These type threads are what I most enjoy here on ATS.

The end, where the pilot stated the drones were scattered over 40-50 miles with the closest one to the boat being 15 miles away from it- leads me to believe the boat had nothing to do with them, unless they were military drones or black ops of some kind. Also- the fact most were observed stationary or drifting in the wind makes me wonder what they are. I know you wrote you don’t believe them to be of external origin- but it’s probably what we’d do to another found-civilization in the cosmos. Heck- we do it to ourselves in the form of satellites for National Security, weather, mapping, etc.

Just makes me think

Thank you again for this thread.

originally posted by: Shadys321
Very well-put together & detailed posting. Thank you

These type threads are what I most enjoy here on ATS.

The end, where the pilot stated the drones were scattered over 40-50 miles with the closest one to the boat being 15 miles away from it- leads me to believe the boat had nothing to do with them, unless they were military drones or black ops of some kind. Also- the fact most were observed stationary or drifting in the wind makes me wonder what they are. I know you wrote you don’t believe them to be of external origin- but it’s probably what we’d do to another found-civilization in the cosmos. Heck- we do it to ourselves in the form of satellites for National Security, weather, mapping, etc.

Sometimes I wonder if we, as a planet, are comparable to an ant farm. We generally don’t go live and intertwine with inferior species, and teach them physics etc. I am sure there is also a counter argument to be made but still..

Just makes me think

Thank you again for this thread.

First thing that comes to mind.

What if it's a submarine launched drone of russian origin? Either tube launched or launched from the aft?

originally posted by: grey580
First thing that comes to mind.

What if it's a submarine launched drone of russian origin? Either tube launched or launched from the aft?

First thing that comes to my mind is China.

They are doing a lot of flexing lately, between the protests and the imminent invasion of Taiwan. Never mind the corona virus originating there too..

I dont know enough about their military capabilities, but i presume they have capable submarines to do what you suggested in your post.

OP: Great thread Shawman as always

a reply to: grey580

Excellent point!

There have been countless incidents of them doing unsafe flybys close to US ships and planes, so it wouldn't be a stretch that Russian subs are patrolling the US East coast.

Also, what if the Russians got their hands on alien tech and are "playing" around with it in our airspace to test our reaction?

Admiral Warns America's East Coast Is No Longer A "Safe Haven" Thanks To Russian Subs

originally posted by: grey580
First thing that comes to mind.

What if it's a submarine launched drone of russian origin? Either tube launched or launched from the aft?

That can travel from 28,000 feet to the surface of the water in less than a second? Not likely. The people (not you) who claim this is a bird are doing UFOlogy a disservice. They are not really paying attention here.

1. Several trained F/A-18 pilots physically observed the tic-tacs. They have several thousand hours of flight time each. Fravor's flight had 4 pilots who saw the craft. The subsequent flight that actually took the FLIR pictures had an additional four pilots. Plus there was the "adversary" pilot who first reported the tic tacs to the Princeton. That's TEN pilots on this one incident alone. And you think they saw a "bird"? How can you even say that with a straight face?

2. Radar from the Princeton picked up these objects and tracked their phenomenal speed independent of the pilots.

3. Radar from the in-flight Hawkeye radar observation plane tracked the same objects independently of the pilots and the Princeton. (Hawkeyes are propeller driven craft with the huge radar dome on top used to control flight operations.)

4. The FLIR system tracked and took pictures of these objects in flight.

5. After analyzing all the data, much of which we don't even know about, The US Navy has said, "We don't now what these are."

And yet people who were not there, have no idea how US Navy systems work, can proclaim from their armchairs that these were "birds." No nation on Earth has the technology to move an object from 28,000 feet to zero in .78 seconds. Nobody is saying "It's aliens," but it sure as hell wasn't birds.

a reply to: schuyler

Your right, they are not birds, or at least the biological type. Its obvious.

What isn't so obvious, is what their intentions, mission, really is.

I've been working on a theory as to what they are, or more importantly for mankind, what is their mission.

Can you imagine how much could be discovered if mankind's life span was say, 1000, 2000, or maybe 3000 years? Combine 3 top scientists who are honest, and allowed to live extended lives, what mysteries could they discover, problems solved..?

The ancient records talk much about recovering "Ambrosia" from the waters. Accounts of Ancient gods and demigods using a type of food to extend their lives. Enki and Enlil wearing fish suits indicating a connection to the waters, and even a Sumerian relief depicting Enki and Enlil offering up to Anu a fruit or plant.

Before the Global Flood, which in fact did happen, mankind lived extended lives, or at least a selected group, called the biblical patriarchs. And from reading the ancient text, Anu (God) became angered with this practice of giving the life extending "Fruit" to the "mortal" man (Eating of the Sacred[Secret] Apple). We were becoming "gods" and Anu did not want the competition, especially when it became clear how smart we were. He ordered the destruction of mankind and decreed the secrets of heaven and earth shall not be shared with mankind(Location and Technology).

I suspect these Tick Tocs, or drones, or guardians, may actually be harvesting, or guarding the location of that ancient "Ambrosia". Simply look at Google Earth and all the grids at the bottom of the oceans. Must have taken thousands of years to produce all of them. Maybe, they are underwater gardens, with one crop...

Anyways, its just a theory. But it would tie up a few loose ends...

Maybe, the Biblical Patriarchs, are still alive, in the Garden .....

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: grey580
First thing that comes to mind.

What if it's a submarine launched drone of russian origin? Either tube launched or launched from the aft?

That can travel from 28,000 feet to the surface of the water in less than a second? Not likely. The people (not you) who claim this is a bird are doing UFOlogy a disservice. They are not really paying attention here.

1. Several trained F/A-18 pilots physically observed the tic-tacs. They have several thousand hours of flight time each. Fravor's flight had 4 pilots who saw the craft. The subsequent flight that actually took the FLIR pictures had an additional four pilots. Plus there was the "adversary" pilot who first reported the tic tacs to the Princeton. That's TEN pilots on this one incident alone. And you think they saw a "bird"? How can you even say that with a straight face?

2. Radar from the Princeton picked up these objects and tracked their phenomenal speed independent of the pilots.

3. Radar from the in-flight Hawkeye radar observation plane tracked the same objects independently of the pilots and the Princeton. (Hawkeyes are propeller driven craft with the huge radar dome on top used to control flight operations.)

4. The FLIR system tracked and took pictures of these objects in flight.

5. After analyzing all the data, much of which we don't even know about, The US Navy has said, "We don't now what these are."

And yet people who were not there, have no idea how US Navy systems work, can proclaim from their armchairs that these were "birds." No nation on Earth has the technology to move an object from 28,000 feet to zero in .78 seconds. Nobody is saying "It's aliens," but it sure as hell wasn't birds.

Very good summary.
Anyone believing that these things are not something out of the ordinary is ignoring the data.

I'm the orb king...

especially at my sons old ranch.....orbs took the place over in 1990's

I've seen so many...back then the drilling rigs were going up everywhere and not just oil rigs....but big rigs....

in East Texas deer hunting at 3 am a group of rigs 4 miles off were all lit up...had my binocks in my sleeping bag.....

I saw orbs growing big and drifting a little, staying around the rig...and 12 more of diffferent sizes.

Saw a bright one off the wingtips about 400 feet of a departing md-90 DFW....going 3x as fast and following the instrument departure to the East.....and it passed three air bus jets till I stopped tracking it to the horizon....bright one, kinda appeared over the Denton FEMA site....

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

China does have submarines. Though since the sightings were east coast I assumed Russia.

Who knows. Could be China as well. Going under the ice up north to come around to the east coast.

a reply to: schuyler

Well a submarine launched rov came to mind when one of the reports said they saw exhaust. And that's a fair amount of backup on what the pilots saw. Some people are claiming that the objects seemed to go fast because of an optical illusion. But if the speed was radar tracked then there's no illusion.

a reply to: schuyler

People seem so desperate to write these things off that they forget all of that stuff.

Basically, they are saying that the USN are a bunch of idiots who don't know what they're doing or seeing.

All that money on pilot training, weapons systems and state of the art sensors but apparently they can't tell the difference between a bird, a balloon and something more exotic - god help them if they ever have to go to war, right??

a reply to: schuyler

So it was tracked on radar and IR. That should tell the astute something.


"No nation on Earth has the technology to move an object from 28,000 feet to zero in .78 seconds."
Define object.. and are you so sure?

a reply to: schuyler

That can travel from 28,000 feet to the surface of the water in less than a second? Not likely.

You seem to be conflating reports in order to create an interesting ball of wax.

Most of them report drone sized small objects


Which a lot of the Nimitz encounters report the smaller objects


Sounds a lot like

a reply to: SecretKnowledge

If I were to suspect China in the mass drone report, my thoughts immediately jump to airborn viral distribution.
Just how my cynical mind works, though...

a reply to: shawmanfromny
Any of these reports can be explained with hobby grade equipment. At one time a friend I know had a styrofoam plane with an electric motor and a uhf radio over 10k feet and over 20 miles away sending live data back to his laptop. He liked doing his testing over water because the radio signals travel farther. It all cost him less than $1000.

Slow, 60" or less wingspan, suitcase sized.. that's all easily explained by a balloon or drone. Small enough to be difficult for radar but spewing enough radio noise to be picked up.

Now 40' crafts maintinaing a high g turn with a fighter jet, 80,000 to 50' in a second, a fleet of them, that's something different from these standard looking reports.

Your list looks like hobbyist or a foreign government operation of some kind. These are different from the physics-defying tic tac videos.

a reply to: SouthernForkway26

Any of these reports can be explained with hobby grade equipment.

Yes, if you are comparing a spear to a rifle. They look similar, but their capabilities are generations apart. Both are long and slender, but one has advanced technology, and the other does not.

Besides, your not taking into consideration the training and experience of these pilots. You don't think one of these pilots are not familiar with "Foamies", and are able to identify them? You don't think anyone in higher command could tell the difference between a rifle, and a spear? The intelligence community????

Though, possible, but not very probable......