This routine US Navy training mission near California turned into one of the most discussed UFO cases in recent history
A routine US Navy training mission off the coast of Southern California in November 2004 turned into one of the most discussed unidentified flying object (UFO) cases in recent history. Nearly two decades later, the incident is still being debated because there is no confirmed explanation for what the pilots and radar operators reported.The event, now widely known as the “Tic Tac” incident, involved multiple Navy personnel, advanced radar systems and infrared video footage. While US defence officials have investigated hundreds of unidentified aerial sightings over the years, the 2004 encounter remains one of the best-known cases.Although the event took place in 2004, it remained largely unknown for years. The case drew worldwide attention in 2017 after The New York Times reported on previously undisclosed Pentagon programmes studying unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) and published details of the incident along with a video.
What happened
On November 14, 2004, retired US Navy Commander David Fravor was leading an F/A-18F squadron from the USS Nimitz during a training exercise about 100 miles southwest of San Diego.Before the flight, radar operators aboard the USS Princeton had been tracking unidentified objects. Fravor said during a 2021 interview that the radar detected multiple aerial objects that appeared to descend from about 80,000 feet in an extremely short time before disappearing.Fravor and fellow pilot Lt. Cmdr Alex Dietrich were sent to investigate.
The ‘Tic Tac’ object
When the pilots reached the location, Fravor said they noticed an unusual patch of disturbed water. Hovering above it was a small white object that reminded him of a Tic Tac mint.“I said, ‘Dude, do you, do you see that thing down there?’ And we saw this little white Tic Tac-looking object. And it’s just kind of moving above the whitewater area,” Fravor later recalled.According to Fravor, four crew members in two aircraft watched the object for around five minutes.He said it had no wings, no visible markings and no exhaust plume. It appeared to be roughly the size of his F/A-18 fighter jet.
Representational AI photo
It responded
Fravor said he moved in for a closer look, but the object seemed to respond to his manoeuvres. “It was aware we were there,” he later told investigators.As he attempted to intercept it, the object accelerated rapidly and disappeared from view. According to his account, radar later detected it about 60 miles away in less than a minute.Years later, Fravor said he still could not explain what he had seen. “I have never seen anything in my life, in my history of flying that has the performance, the acceleration; this thing had no wings,” he told ABC News in 2017.He also said, “I think it was not from this world,” while adding that he could not identify what the object was.
Infrared video
After Fravor’s encounter, another Navy aircraft flown by Commander Chad Underwood was sent to the area.His aircraft recorded infrared footage of the object. The grainy video later became one of the most widely shared UFO videos after it surfaced publicly and was eventually acknowledged by the Pentagon.Underwood also said he received radar jamming indications during the encounter.
No explanation yet
In July 2023, Fravor appeared before a US House hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena. He told lawmakers that what he and the other pilots witnessed appeared to be beyond known aviation technology.“I think what we experienced was… well beyond the material science and the capabilities that we had at the time, that we have currently or that we’re going to have in the next 10 to 20 years,” he testified, as quoted by CBS news.The Pentagon has not yet said that the Tic Tac object was extraterrestrial. US officials have said that many reported unidentified aerial phenomena are eventually explained as ordinary objects or events. However, some cases remain unresolved because of limited or incomplete data.The 2004 Tic Tac encounter, however, continues to be one of the most closely examined cases because it involved multiple trained military witnesses, radar tracking and infrared footage, yet no definitive explanation has been publicly confirmed.
