CASE FILE US-2015-002
GOFAST ATFLIR Video
Official finding
Resolved — consistent with a slow, wind-driven airborne object at altitude; no anomalous flight characteristics found
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Anomaly Index assessment
Likely identifiedAARO's February 2025 geometric and wind-corrected reanalysis provides a specific, well-supported conventional account of the object's apparent motion, correcting an earlier assumption that it was fast and close to the water. The finding is not a full identification because the analysis relied on a compressed copy of the video after the original file and its metadata were lost, and could not draw on complete aircraft flight telemetry.
Anomaly Index assessments are editorial evaluations of the public record. They are not official government determinations.
What was reported
In January 2015, an F/A-18 aircrew from the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, operating in the Atlantic off the Florida coast, used an ATFLIR targeting pod to record roughly 34 seconds of infrared video showing an object crossing the frame over the ocean surface. In the video, aircrew can be heard remarking on the object's apparent speed. The clip circulated publicly beginning in 2017 under the name GoFast, and the Department of Defense confirmed it as an authentic, unaltered Navy recording in 2020. In February 2025, AARO published a reanalysis concluding the object was not in fact close to the ocean surface: using historical wind data and a range of possible aircraft headings, AARO assessed with high confidence that the object was near 13,000 feet in altitude, and that its apparent extreme speed was a visual illusion created by motion parallax — the effect by which a slow-moving or stationary object appears to move quickly when viewed from a fast-moving aircraft.
What is verified
- An F/A-18 aircrew from the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group recorded roughly 34 seconds of ATFLIR infrared video of a fast-appearing object off Florida's Atlantic coast in January 2015.[2]
- The Department of Defense confirmed the GoFast video as an authentic, unaltered Navy recording in April 2020.[2]
- In February 2025, AARO published a case resolution concluding the object was near 13,000 feet in altitude and that its apparent speed was consistent with motion parallax rather than anomalous flight.[1]
- AARO's analysis relied on a compressed copy of the video, noting the original file and its metadata had been lost, and lacked complete F/A-18F flight telemetry.[1]
Evidence ledger
| Type | Description | Originality | Source organization | Released | Raw or edited | Metadata | Provenance | Known limitations | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infrared | GoFast — roughly 34 seconds of ATFLIR infrared video showing an object crossing rapidly over the ocean surface. | Derivative | U.S. Navy / Department of Defense | 2015 (recorded); 2017 (leaked); 2020 (official release) | Unknown | No | Circulated privately before being published by To The Stars Academy and The New York Times in 2017; officially confirmed as an authentic, unaltered Navy recording by DoD in April 2020. | The only version available for analysis, including AARO's own 2025 review, is a compressed, previously circulated copy; the original file and its metadata were reported lost. | [2] |
| Official document | AARO Go Fast Case Resolution report — geometric and wind-corrected reanalysis of the object's altitude and apparent speed. | Original | All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office | 2025-02-06 | Raw | Yes | Official AARO case resolution report. | Relies on reconstructed historical wind data and a modeled range of possible aircraft headings rather than confirmed flight telemetry; the conclusion is a high-confidence estimate, not a directly measured certainty. | [1] |
Proposed explanations
Motion parallax misjudgment of a slow, wind-driven object (e.g., a balloon)
Proposed by All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (February 2025 case resolution)
Supporting: Geometric reanalysis places the object near 13,000 feet altitude; its ground-relative motion is consistent with a small, slow object carried by winds of roughly 69 mph at that altitude, matching the wind-adjusted apparent path.
Contradicting: The original aircrew's real-time impression, and much of the public reaction after the video's 2017 release, was of a fast object low over the water; AARO's own analysis notes it could not draw on complete flight telemetry and had to test a range of possible aircraft headings.
SupportedHigh-speed, low-altitude craft
Proposed by Original popular interpretation following the video's 2017 publication; some UAP researchers and commentators.
Supporting: The video's framing and audible aircrew commentary convey an impression of a fast-moving object low over the water.
Contradicting: AARO's 2025 geometric reanalysis found the apparent proximity to the surface and extreme speed were consistent with motion parallax rather than the object's true motion.
DisputedWhy this classification?
This case is classified as Likely identified because AARO's 2025 geometric and wind-corrected reanalysis provides a specific, well-reasoned conventional explanation — a slow-moving, wind-driven object near 13,000 feet, misjudged as low and fast due to motion parallax — that accounts for the object's apparent behavior in the released video. It falls short of a full identification because AARO worked from a compressed copy of the video after the original file and its metadata were lost, and could not use complete aircraft flight telemetry.
What remains unknown
- The object's exact type — AARO's finding rules out anomalous flight rather than naming a specific object such as a weather balloon or research balloon.
- What the original, uncompressed video and its metadata would show, since both were reported lost before AARO's analysis.
- The recording aircraft's precise heading at the time, which AARO had to estimate across a plausible range rather than confirm directly.
Classification history
- 2015
Recorded; not publicly disclosed — U.S. Navy
Video remained internal to the Navy and was not publicly known at the time.
- 2020
Confirmed authentic Navy recording; phenomenon characterized as unidentified — U.S. Department of Defense
Official statement authorizing release of the FLIR, GIMBAL, and GOFAST videos.
- 2025
Resolved — consistent with a slow, wind-driven object; no anomalous flight characteristics found — All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Case resolution report published February 6, 2025.
- 2026
Likely identified — Anomaly Index
Sources
- Primary source: Tier AAARO Go Fast Case Resolution — Card Methodology (opens in new tab)
Source provenance note
AARO's geometric and trigonometric reanalysis of the January 2015 "Go Fast" ATFLIR video. Using historical wind data and a range of possible aircraft headings (complete F/A-18F telemetry was unavailable), AARO assessed with high confidence that the object was near 13,000 feet altitude rather than close to the ocean surface, and that its wind-adjusted speed was consistent with a small, slow-moving airborne object rather than a high-speed craft — attributing the original impression of extreme speed to motion parallax. The report notes it relied on a compressed copy of the video after the original file and metadata were lost. Direct fetch of aaro.mil returned HTTP 403 (site-level bot protection); content verified via The Black Vault's mirrored copy of the same PDF and corroborating news coverage.