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Top-secret UFO files could 'gravely damage' US national security if released, Navy says

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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
LiveScience senior writer

Brandon has been a senior writer at Live Science since 2017, and was formerly a staff writer and editor at Reader's Digest magazine. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, 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.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • Loonybin
    This I do not understand. How can it threaten national securiy because alien life visits our planet, its something the whole world should, and probably does know about. These secretive bunch think we are here just to be their servants, their sheep to follow them, only speak when spoken to. I am a part of this Earth and I have every right to know who else is on it. Nobody should have these rights to lies, cover ups, and secrets and use national security as the excuse.. Everyone knows that aliens have visited or they are already here. I get fed up of the population being treated like we are nothing, we dont matter, we have no right to our own planet because the Governments, armies, and navys think THEY own it. Well I'm glad I had my own encounter with something from a different world, at least they can't take that away, and I dont have to be convinced that people from other planets exist, because I know.
    Reply