Navy Claims that Release of Top Secret 2004 Nimitz UFO Info "Would Cause Exceptionally Grave Damage" to National Security

UFO researcher Christian Lambright received a denial from the Navy earlier this month to his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records relating to the famed USS Nimitz “Tic Tac” UFO encounter, according to a January 8th blog post in UFOs — Documenting the Evidence.

Lambright submitted the FOIA request to ONI last October 28th, requesting "all releasable portions of records and reports related to investigation of the detection of and encounter(s) with Anomalous Aerial Vehicles (AAVs) by personnel involved with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (CSG) operations off the western coast of the United States during the period of approximately 10-16 November, 2004."

The official response to Lambright’s request came from Camille V’Estres, the US Navy’s (USN) Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) FOIA/PA Coordinator, who said,

Our review of our records and systems reveal that ONI has no releasable records related to your request. ONI has searched our records for responsive documents. We have discovered certain briefing slides that are classified TOP SECRET. A review of these materials indicates that are currently and appropriate Marked and Classified TOP SECRET under Executive Order 13526, and the Original Classification Authority has determined that the release of these materials would cause exceptionally grave damage to the National Security of the United States.

"We have also determined that ONI possesses a video classified SECRET that ONI is not the Original Classification Authority for. ONI has forwarded your request to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to make a determination on releasability," she added.

It’s unclear what might be on the “briefing slides” and classified video, but three sailors involved in the 2004 Nimitz UFO sightings all claim to have seen a longer, clearer version of the “FLIR1” footage taken by a fighter pilot’s targeting camera during one of the encounters and later released in 2017.

The data from those sightings was confiscated by “unknown individuals” shortly after they occurred, said the servicemen.

Many in the UFO community are speculating that the mysterious video could represent the missing footage, although it is not publicly known at this time if that is the case.

"As for the video, which is apparently classified SECRET and owned by NAVAIR, one is bound to think it relates to the short ‘Tic Tac’ footage taken by pilot Chat Underwood during the famed and still unsolved encounter," said Paul Dean in the blog for UFOs — Documenting the Evidence.

Although, he added, "this mightn’t be the case."

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