Top-Secret UFO Files Could 'Gravely Damage' US National Security if Released, Navy Says

News
By Brandon Specktor
published

The truth is out there… but you're still not allowed to see it.

In 2017, a video of the Nimitz UFO encounter was publicly released.
This infamous video of the USS Nimitz UFO encounter may not be the only one out there... (Image credit: To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science)

In November 2004, several U.S. Navy pilots stationed aboard the USS Nimitz encountered a Tic-Tac-shaped UFO darting and dashing over the Pacific Ocean in apparent defiance of the laws of physics. Navy officials dubbed the strange craft an "unidentified aerial phenomenon," but they have remained mum on what, exactly, that phenomenon could've been. Now, unsurprisingly to anyone who's ever considered making a hat out of tinfoil, the military has confirmed they know more than they're letting on.

In response to a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, a spokesperson from the Navy's Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) confirmed that the agency possesses several top-secret documents and at least one classified video pertaining to the 2004 UFO encounter, Vice reported. 

According to the ONI spokesperson, these documents were either labeled "SECRET" or "TOP SECRET" by the agencies that provided them, and that sharing the information with the public "would cause exceptionally grave damage to the National Security of the United States."

Related: 7 Things Most Often Mistaken for UFOs

These top-secret files included several "briefing slides" about the incident, provided to the ONI by an unnamed agency. (Because ONI officials did not classify the slides personally, they are unable to declassify them, the spokesperson added). 

The ONI also admitted to possessing at least one video of unknown length, classified as "secret" by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). ONI didn't reveal whether this footage is the same 1-minute video that was leaked online in 2007 and widely released by The New York Times in 2017. However, in November 2019, several naval officers who witnessed the incident aboard the Nimitz told Popular Mechanics that they had seen a much longer video of the encounter that was between 8 and 10 minutes long. These original recordings were promptly collected and erased by "unknown individuals" who arrived on the ship by helicopter shortly after the incident, one officer said.

Luis Elizondo, a former Pentagon staffer who helped make the Navy video public, told Vice that "people should not be surprised by the revelation that other videos exist and at greater length."

The FOIA request, submitted in October 2019 by an independent researcher, asked for access to any nonclassified records or portions of records regarding the 2004 UFO encounter. No additional documents were mentioned in the ONI's response besides the classified briefing and video.

Originally published on Live Science.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Brandon Specktor
Brandon Specktor
Editor

Brandon is the space/physics editor at Live Science. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website and other outlets. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. He enjoys writing most about space, geoscience and the mysteries of the universe.

202 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Johnny Nonsense
    The Navy statement is intentionally very vague so that the reader can imagine national security concerns to be whatever concerns them the most. The religious person will think it will damage their religion, the investor will think it will damage their investments, etc.

    I'm sure the US Navy aren't the only ones who see these things - what about other countries? Why/how are they all on the same page?
    Reply
  • TeeTee
    I would think it could be the "entanglement theory".
    Reply
  • William Pennat
    Oh, the military is always saying stuff like that. It's just their standard excuse for hiding as much information as possible away from the public....
    Reply
  • Aandruk82
    I say let the military decide what's best for us. If they know something which they obviously do and deem it too risky to be let out to the public then I say let's stand behind out military. I believe in them and what they are doing and if they say it's not for public eyes then so be it. What would the public do with knowing more about craft in our skies that exhibit radical new capabilities. It's the militaries job to handle such events and I believe they are doing just that. Whatever we get here and there as far as information great but let's let the military decide how it gets distributed.
    Reply
  • cecilia fx
    Johnny Nonsense said:
    The Navy statement is intentionally very vague so that the reader can imagine national security concerns to be whatever concerns them the most. The religious person will think it will damage their religion, the investor will think it will damage their investments, etc.

    I'm sure the US Navy aren't the only ones who see these things - what about other countries? Why/how are they all on the same page?
    it's not vague.
    Revealing info about this Unidentified thing might also reveal surveillance techniques. And since the US has been spying on the Russians (among others) for years this could be dangerous.
    politically.
    Reply
  • groove50
    Aandruk82 said:
    I say let the military decide what's best for us. If they know something which they obviously do and deem it too risky to be let out to the public then I say let's stand behind out military. I believe in them and what they are doing and if they say it's not for public eyes then so be it. What would the public do with knowing more about craft in our skies that exhibit radical new capabilities. It's the militaries job to handle such events and I believe they are doing just that. Whatever we get here and there as far as information great but let's let the military decide how it gets distributed.


    Not all of us prefer to be sheeple.🙈🙉🙊
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    Aandruk82 said:
    I say let the military decide what's best for us. If they know something which they obviously do and deem it too risky to be let out to the public then I say let's stand behind out military. I believe in them and what they are doing and if they say it's not for public eyes then so be it. What would the public do with knowing more about craft in our skies that exhibit radical new capabilities. It's the militaries job to handle such events and I believe they are doing just that. Whatever we get here and there as far as information great but let's let the military decide how it gets distributed.

    I was in the military and I respect my fellow brothers and sisters. But that is not the way the US is supposed to work especially when the money is coming from us to fund the military with our tax dollars. It is the Military Industrial Complex which Eisenhower warned about and very dangerous for us for them to have to much power and secrets. There is no reason the American public shouldn't know these things when we are the ones funding them. That is like giving your money to an investor and them telling you they can't tell you what they are doing with your money because it might hurt your feelings.lol!
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    groove50 said:
    Not all of us prefer to be sheeple.🙈🙉🙊

    I agree and they have been hiding things from us for years and years.
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    cecilia fx said:
    it's not vague.
    Revealing info about this Unidentified thing might also reveal surveillance techniques. And since the US has been spying on the Russians (among others) for years this could be dangerous.
    politically.

    They will also lose a lot of credibility when the American people and the world find out they have known about aliens and even work with some for a long time and lied about it and even called people tin foil hat wears for discovering this. I saw a good show on the History channel the other day about aliens and the US gov. cover up. It was very thought provoking to say the least and even went over a few things I discovered through my own research on the matter.

    I do think they are slowly dripping it out to the public especially since it is being allowed to be shown on mainstream TV. But they can never come out and say the aliens have always been here or what they call full disclosure. I don't think that will ever happen. Unless the whole 2 party system is done away with. Well now it is more like just big government no matter what party.
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    From the article:
    These original recordings were promptly collected and erased by "unknown individuals" who arrived on the ship by helicopter shortly after the incident, one officer said.
    Could that have been the MIB or also known as Men IN Black that seem to always show up with encounters like this?
    Reply