Navy crew reports dramatic encounter eerily similar to iconic ‘Tic Tac' incident
That formation seemed eerily similar to the now-famous 'Tic Tac' object seen in those same waters in 2004 and investigated by a secret government program based in Las Vegas.
It appears the 'Tic Tac' is back, or maybe never left, as the crew members aboard the USS Jackson said that they saw four of the oddly shaped craft, one of which emerged from the ocean.
The sailors were able to record video of two of the 'Tic Tacs' as they appeared on a thermal sensor in the ship's command center. That video was made public Tuesday in a podcast that 8 News Now Investigator George Knapp co-hosts and is likely to rekindle questions about who is piloting these objects.
It's been nearly 2 decades since the 'Tic Tac' incident, here's what we know about the iconic UFO encounter
When Navy aviators first encountered a 'Tic Tac' shaped object off the coast of Southern California in 2004, it was largely ignored until 2008 when a new UFO program based in Las Vegas learned about the incident.
The program, dubbed AAWSAP, was launched by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), with support from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Bigelow Aerospace as the contractor.
As it turns out, the 2004 'Tic Tac' is pretty much identical to the 2023 model. In February 2023, crew members aboard the Navy's USS Jackson saw an illuminated object emerge from the ocean off the coast of Southern California — in the same general area where the original 'Tic Tac' was seen.
Inside the ship's command center, the sailors saw a familiar shape on the thermal sensor. The thermal system, known as Safire, is a heat sensor, not a camera. A closer look showed that there were two of the objects, not just one. The witness said they saw four 'Tic Tacs' in formation.
'But when we start talking about all of the objects, all we witnessed was all four of them. All in synchronous, jetting into the abyss. All four, all timed together and all left. And we were like holy [expletive] … The second they left, maybe three, four seconds pass, I run to my station and I look at my radar, they're all off radar. That's it, they all zoomed off. But it's clear that they're in communication with one another and synchronized like three, two, one countdown. Let's all go. I think unless there's some level of like one entity controlling all four and then they all leave at the same time,' a USS Jackson crew member, who requested to stay anonymous, said.
His account and the video recorded from the thermal sensor were made public on the Weaponized Podcast with filmmaker Jeremy Corbell.
George Knapp analyzes 'drone-a-palooza,' the swarm of unidentified objects creating buzz nationwide
'It is not an unusual thing for people who are out in combat zones to see anomalous craft, and we're talking no wings, no tail, no rotors, no exhaust. You and I get it time after time after time. Usually, they're just stories. When you have a piece of data that correlates with the verbal testimony, that's big and that moves the needle,' Corbell said. Crew members told Corbell that other sensors on the ship confirmed what was seen on the thermal screen. 8 News Now asked former defense department analyst Marik Von Rennenkampff to figure out if the sensor may have picked up images from an airplane or helicopter.
'The very first thing, George, that I did, is I went back to the historical flight tracker data, and we know the time, location, we know which way, we know with a high level of precision which way the infrared camera aboard the USS Jackson was pointing, and we can we can in the 3D space, we can kind of, we can project where that camera was looking, and there are absolutely no aircraft within that line of sight that match up with what we see in the video,' Von Rennenkampff said.
Inside one of the most consequential UFO encounters of all time: the 'tic tac' incident
Could it be some sort of secret military project that has been stashed out in the ocean for the past 21 years or longer?
'I don't think it's ours. I suspect there are better places for us to showcase that kind of equipment to unwitting sailors. That just doesn't make sense,' Von Rennenkampff added. The new 'Tic Tac' video was shared with the Navy aviators who encountered the first 'Tic Tac' 21 years ago. David Fravor and Chad Underwood both said they were stunned by the similarities.
So why was this incident not reported up the chain of command or to the Pentagon's UFO office, AARO? It's not clear, however, this is just the beginning, and it is suspected that Congress will be asking questions about the video and the incident.
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The Iron Beam uses optical fiber lasers, which are essentially souped-up industrial lasers, to destroy aerial threats. 'Electricity is used to excite atoms or molecules,' explains Wang. 'They emit high energy photons, and all the photons are concentrated using mirrors. The laser heats a critical area — say, the fuel tank or warhead — until the missile fails.' 9 Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic/Facebook Advertisement Lasers convert electrical energy 'into a focused beam of light particles, or photons,' says Boyd. 'Depending on the energy, they can cut, melt, combust or destroy a target.' In practical terms, the Iron Beam vaporizes drones with surgical precision. But there are limits. HELs currently can't intercept long-range ballistic missiles like the ones targeted by Israel's Arrow 3, which shoots down threats outside the Earth's atmosphere. For now, lasers remain short-range guardians. Also, a weapon capable of melting metal at 2 kilometers isn't exactly energy-efficient. 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'Or if it misses a target, it could travel hundreds of miles. There is a need to ensure no innocent party is affected.' Advertisement The UN banned laser weapons designed to blind in 1995. But with nations like Russia and Turkey reportedly fielding HELs, updated international rules may be overdue. And then there's the conspiracy crowd. Social media has fueled bizarre theories claiming government lasers have started wildfires in California and Hawaii, an idea experts flatly reject. 'I am very skeptical about these claims,' says Boyd. 'Installing a laser of sufficient power to start a fire on a drone is not simple. For a laser to be effective, you need to have very fine pointing control to ensure that the beam stays precisely on the target.' Achieving that during flight requires sophisticated technology, Boyd says, and there are 'probably more effective ways of starting wildfires from drones than lasers.' 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