"GO FAST" Case Resolution Methodology

TL;DR

February 6 2025: when paperwork outruns the ‘fast’ mystery.

• Unclassified PDF by AARO, dated February 6 2025, titled “GO FAST” case methodology.
• Analyzes 2015 Navy F/A‑18F FLIR sighting off Florida, altitude 13,000 ft, speed 5‑92 mph.
• Concludes object showed no anomalous performance; apparent speed due to motion parallax.

AI summary

This is an unclassified report from the U.S. Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, dated February 6, 2025. It details the analysis of a 2015 incident involving a U.S. Navy F/A-18F pilot who recorded an object using a forward-looking infrared sensor off the coast of Florida. The document states the object was assessed to be at an altitude of 13,000 feet and moving at speeds between 5 mph and 92 mph. The report concludes that the object did not display anomalous performance characteristics and that its apparent high speed was due to motion parallax. The video was released publicly in 2020.

Full text

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All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
U.S. Department of Defense
Case: “Go Fast”
Case Resolution | February 6, 2025

Case Overview

Case Essentials

In January 2015, a U.S. Navy F/A-18F pilot
recorded an object using a Forward Looking
Infrared (FLIR) sensor about 13,000 feet
above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of
Florida.

Location: Eastern coast of Florida

The video appeared to show the object moving
at high speed. AARO cannot definitively
identify the object, but it displayed no
anomalous performance characteristics.

Object Altitude (assessed): 13,000 feet

Date: January 2015
Object Altitude (reported): Near ocean’s
surface

Object Speed (reported): Appeared to
move at high speeds
Object Speed (assessed): 5 mph - 92 mph

The Department of Defense officially released
the “Go Fast” video in 2020. It is available for
public viewing at the Navy’s FOIA Reading
Room.

Object Shape (reported): Round
Object Shape (assessed): Spherical or
oblate ellipsoid

Key Findings

Reporter: U.S. Navy

AARO assesses with high confidence that the
object did not move at anomalous speeds.
AARO's analysis showed:

Sensor: Forward Looking Infrared

•
•

•

Reported Behavior: Moved at high speeds
near the ocean’s surface

The object’s altitude was
Assessed Behavior: An object moving
approximately 13,000 feet.
between 5 and 92 mph at approximately
The object’s speed ranged from about
13,000 feet
32 m/s (72 mph) to 72 m/s (161 mph)
depending on its heading relative to
Summary of Findings: High confidence
the wind. Compensating for the
the object did not demonstrate anomalous
wind’s contribution to the object’s
performance characteristics
speed, its approximate speed range is 2
m/s (5 mph) to 41.3 m/s (92 mph).
The object’s heading deviated as much as 32° from wind direction, though most
simulations conducted during AARO’s analysis showed significantly less difference.
The object did not move against the wind in any simulation.
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Determining the object’s true speed and direction of travel (heading) requires knowing the F/A18F’s heading. AARO calculated the object’s speed and heading relative to the aircraft because
the video display does not contain the aircraft’s heading. AARO calculated the object’s position
and direction of travel for the entire range of possible wind directions (0° - 360°) to account for
differences in atmospheric conditions between the F/A-18F’s altitude and object’s altitude. This
comprehensive modeling informed AARO’s assessment of whether the object moved with or
against the wind and whether it behaved anomalously for all possible directions of travel.
AARO factored in historical wind speeds and directions at both the object’s altitude (13,000 feet)
and the aircraft’s altitude (25,000 feet), as measured near the time and location of the event:
•
•

At 13,000 feet, wind speed was 30.9 m/s (69 mph) from the west (265°).
At 25,000 feet, wind speed was 52 m/s (116 mph) from the west southwest (255°).

Figure 1 shows the object’s range of possible speeds calculated while compensating for wind
speed at 13,000 feet. This is considered the “intrinsic” speed. An intrinsic speed of 0 m/s
indicates that the object is moving with the wind, or about 30.9 m/s.

Figure 1: The y-axis represents the object’s speed with wind effects removed. The x-axis represents the wind’s
heading relative to the F/A-18F’s airframe geometry (0° is a headwind). The curve represents the object’s range of
speeds at each angle. The tailwind, headwind, and crosswind cases are denoted by the colored lines. The object’s
lowest possible speed occurs near a headwind while the highest occurs in a tailwind.

Figure 2 shows the object’s range of possible headings relative to the wind direction at 13,000
feet A direction of 0° indicates that the object is moving in the same direction as the wind.

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Figure 2: The y-axis represents the difference between the object’s heading and the wind direction at 13,000 feet.
The x-axis represents the wind’s heading relative to the F/A-18F’s airframe geometry (0° is a headwind). The curve
represents the object’s range of possible directions compared to the wind. The tailwind, headwind, and crosswinds
are denoted by the colored lines. The maximum deviation in the UAP’s direction of travel from wind direction is
32.1°.

Figures 1 and 2 can be used to find the object’s speed and heading compared to the wind for any
direction of the F/A-18F’s travel relative to the prevailing wind direction. As examples, the
object’s apparent speed and direction is summarized here for four scenarios: headwind,
crosswind from the left, tailwind, and crosswind from the right.
1. Headwind (aircraft flying into the wind): The object moved 2.0 m/s (5 mph) faster than
the wind, at a heading of 5° off-wind.
2. Left Crosswind (wind coming from the left side): The object moved 26.5 m/s (59 mph)
faster than the wind, heading 31.5° off-wind.
3. Tailwind (aircraft flying with the wind): The object moved 41.3 m/s (92 mph) faster than
the wind, heading 12.3° off-wind.
4. Right Crosswind (wind coming from the right side): The object moved 27.7 m/s (62
mph) faster than the wind, heading 9.5° off-wind.
The object’s performance characteristics are consistent with historical wind conditions in each
scenario. AARO assesses the object did not demonstrate anomalous performance characteristics.
The object’s apparent high speed is attributable to motion parallax. Motion parallax is an optical
effect that induces an observer to perceive that a stationary or slow-moving object is moving
much faster than that the subject object’s actual speed when viewed from a moving frame of
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reference. The more quickly an observer moves relative to an observed object, the more
pronounced this effect is.
Data Quality and Methodology
AARO analyzed the publicly available 34-second FLIR video, because the original file and its
accompanying metadata are no longer available. The video display provided sufficient
information to assess the object’s altitude and a range of possible speeds. The display showed:
•
•
•

The range (distance) from the FLIR sensor to the target.
The FLIR camera’s azimuth (left-right angle) and elevation (up-down angle).
The aircraft's altitude, speed, and tilt (bank angle).

The aircraft’s exact location and heading (compass direction) during the recording are unknown.1
AARO could not calculate a single speed or heading for the object because the aircraft’s
calculated flight path depends on its exact heading, and the object’s calculated location depends
on the aircraft’s location. Instead, the analysis considered all possible aircraft headings (from 0°
to 360°) to calculate a range of possible speeds and headings for the object. These calculations
include a small margin of error, because the range from the sensor to the object and the sensor
angles are only accurate to a single decimal place.
AARO could not determine the object’s size due to the video’s low resolution and the range from
the sensor to the object. However, pixel analysis (a method of measuring an object’s size based
on pixels relative to an object known dimensions) by AARO’s Intelligence Community (IC)
partner suggested the object was one meter or less in size - comparable to a small drone or bird.
For more technical details on assumptions and methodology, see Appendix A: Estimating UAP
Location, Speed, and Heading from “Go Fast” FLIR Video Data.

1 Editor’s Note: AARO sought but was unable to obtain witness accounts from the F/A-18F aircrew. Updated 20 February 2025.

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Appendix A: Estimating UAP Location, Speed, and Heading from
“Go Fast” FLIR Video Data
February 2025
Introduction
In 2024, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) estimated possible altitude, speed,
and heading solutions for an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP), commonly known as
“Go Fast.” The executive summary, general overview, and conclusions are provided in the
AARO “Go Fast” Case resolution [ref 1]. This paper presents a more in-depth data analysis for
those interested in the mathematics and calculations applied to the forward-looking infrared
(FLIR) video footage captured by an AN/ASQ sensor pod onboard the F/A-18 Super Hornet
observing the event in January 2015. AARO manually extracted data from a publicly available
video of the “Go Fast” event as the source material to conduct its analysis.
Video footage collected via military sensors, like the AN/ASQ, are not required to collect FullMotion Video (FMV) or other Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) products.
Therefore, it is not intended to support intelligence or other rigorous analysis. Thus, video
footage from these platforms often contains compression artifacts or lacks the necessary
metadata to conduct an exhaustive analysis.
For proper FMV products, standard analysis is done using software packages such as SOCET
GXP [ref 2]. SOCET GXP is a suite of geospatial analytic software tools that utilize satellite and
airborne imagery to measure and detect objects and phenomena. Generally, FMV is used to
track objects on the surface of the earth such as road vehicles, ships, and tanks. In these cases,
an object’s location can be determined since an FMV sensor knows where it is and where it is
pointed and can then calculate the distance to the ground point. In the case of the “Go-Fast”
video, the object is not on the ground and the sensor/aircraft location is not provided in the
metadata.
Despite these limitations, the basic techniques used in FMV analysis can be applied with some
alteration for analyzing UAP cases. AARO reconstructed the F/A-18’s flight path and position
and assessed possible trajectories of the “Go Fast” UAP using the mathematics, standard
methods, and conventions defined in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA)
Motion Imagery Standards Board’s UAS Datalink Local Set Standards (MISB ST 0601.19 dated
March 02, 2023) [ref 3]. Step-by-step calculations are provided in this paper to estimate the
motion characteristics of the UAP in the “Go Fast” event from the same video accessible by the
public.

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Data
The only data available to AARO from the “Go Fast” event were from a compressed Windows
Media File (.wmv) [ref 4]. The recording’s metadata does not contain the F/A-18’s
georeferenced position and heading, which are necessary to determine the UAP’s absolute
position and flight characteristics. The sensor display does contain enough information to find a
speed, relative heading, and altitude of the UAP. These necessary pieces of information are the
elevation angle of the sensor, the azimuth angle of the sensor, the range from the F/A-18 to the
target, the F/A-18 altitude, the F/A-18 speed, and relative frame times. The sensor pod display
shows most of these values as integers, limiting the fidelity of the initial calculations2. The
display is shown in Figure 1 with these fields labeled.

Figure 3: One of the two frames used in the analysis with annotated fields indicate the data extracted from the
video and used in calculations.

To estimate the UAP speed, the first step was to determine its location at two positions separated
by a known time period. For this, the range to the target must be known. From 4232 seconds
until the end of the video, the tracker acquired a target track on the UAP, enabling the range to
be reported. Within this portion AARO focused its analysis on a 13-second excerpt from the
footage between 4239 seconds (“t1”) and 4252 seconds (“t2”). AARO selected this segment
because, between t1 and t2, the aircraft’s bank angle, altitude, and airspeed remained nearly
constant. This simplified the estimation of the F/A-18 flight characteristics due to the reduced
number of variables. At t1, the F/A-18’s range to the UAP was 4.0 NM and closed in range to
3.4 NM at t2.

2

Following sections will outline a methodology to estimate values with more precision.

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Table I contains the data extracted from the video footage at t1 and t2. Range and altitude were
converted to metric units to maintain consistency in calculations. The F/A-18 bank angle was
measured using the yellow lines drawn over the level flight and roll indicator lines in the display
as depicted in Figure 1. This angle, denoted by θB, was approximately 14° from t1 to t2. An
average aircraft altitude of 7,621 m was assumed over this time frame. The speed in Mach
number was converted to m/s [ref 5] at the altitude of the F/A-18, resulting in an average speed
of about 190 m/s over the time frame.
Table I: Data extracted from frames at 4239 seconds and 4252 seconds in the “Go Fast” video.
Parameter

Frame 1 Sensor
Display Value

Frame 1
Converted

Frame 2 Sensor
Display Value

Frame 2
Converted

Time
Sensor Azimuth
Sensor Elevation
Range to Target
Aircraft Altitude
Aircraft Velocity

4239 sec
49°
-29°
4.0 NM
25,000 ft
0.61 M

0 sec
49°
-29°
7408 m
7620 m
188 m/s*

4252 sec
57°
-35°
3.4 NM
25,010 ft
0.62 M

13 sec
57°
-35°
6297 m
7623 m
191 m/s*

*-assumes speed of sound (M=1) at 25,000 ft is 601 knots [ref 5]

UAP Location Calculation Methodology
This section contains step-by-step calculations for finding the UAP locations relative to the F/A18 at two points in the “Go Fast” UAP event. This provides the reader with a foundational
understanding of the methodology and rough estimate of the speed and heading of the UAP. The
methodology will then be applied to all frames in the t1 to t2 interval in a later section.
Since the data do not provide an absolute location for the F/A-18 at t1, the aircraft was arbitrarily
placed at a reference point that simplified the problem: the origin of an x-y-z cartesian
coordinate system. The axes of this system were defined in a manner consistent with the MISB
ST 0601.19 [ref 3, p. 12] and provided here in Figure 2. The aircraft longitudinal axis is the +xaxis, the transverse axis the +y-axis, and the vertical axis the +z-axis.

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Figure 4: The three axes defined relative to an air platform in FMV analysis. Longitudinal is the
+x, Transverse is the +y, and Vertical is the +z (pointing down).

This coordinate system was applied to the F/A-18 as depicted in Figure 3. Because the aircraft
altitude was constant over the duration of flight, its path is level and confined to the x-y plane (z
= 0).

Figure 5: The top-down view coordinate system defined with the position of the F/A-18 at the origin with
coordinates [0,0,0]. The aircraft is moving in the +x direction.

With the position of the F/A-18 defined at t1, the location of the UAP relative to this position was
calculated. This calculation was done by defining a line-of-sight (LOS) or “pointing” vector and
then rotating this vector around the axes by the sensor azimuth and elevation angles given in
Table I in order to point to the location of the UAP.
The angle of rotation about the x-axis is the aircraft roll and is denoted by α; the angle of rotation
about the y-axis is the “up and down” motion due to the aircraft pitch or sensor pointing
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elevation and denoted by β; the angle of rotation about the z-axis is the “left and right” motion
due to aircraft yaw or sensor pointing azimuth and denoted by γ. For this FLIR sensor, the bank
(or roll) angle of the aircraft is included in the elevation and angles of the sensor and not treated
separately. The reader is encouraged to consult [ref 3] for additional explanation of these angles.
These rotations were carried out by applying 2-D rotation matrices derived from the underlying
trigonometry [ref 6]. Equations (1), (2), and (3) provide these 3x3 rotation matrices about the x-,
y-, and z-axes by the defined angles α, β, and γ respectively.
1
0
0
0
cos(𝛼)
−
sin(𝛼)
(𝛼)
𝑅𝑥
=[
]
0 sin(𝛼) cos(𝛼)

(1)

cos⁡(𝛽) 0
0
1
− sin(𝛽) 0

(2)

𝑅𝑦 (𝛽) = [

sin⁡(𝛽)
0 ]
cos(𝛽)

cos⁡(𝛾) −sin⁡(𝛾)
𝑅𝑧 (𝛾) = [ sin⁡(𝛾) cos(𝛾)
0
0

0
0]
1

(3)

These rotations are relative to the aircraft attitude. Therefore, the initial LOS was defined as a
unit vector pointing straight ahead from the F/A-18 along the +x-axis. This vector is represented
in cartesian (x, y, z) vector notation as v = <1,0,0>. The vector’s magnitude is defined by the
range to the UAP. Properly rotating, or pointing, this vector by the given sensor angles yields
the UAP’s relative position to the aircraft.
Position of UAP at t1
The length, or magnitude, of the LOS vector at t1 was defined by multiplying the unit vector v by
the range to the target. At t1 the range was 7,408 m, thus the initial LOS vector was v1 = <7,408,
0, 0> m.
The next step was to point this vector at the UAP. First, it was rotated by the sensor elevation
(pitch) angle β around the y-axis:
cos⁡(𝛽) 0
0
1
𝑅𝑦 (𝛽) ∙ 𝒗𝟏 = [
− sin(𝛽) 0

sin⁡(𝛽) 7408
0 ][ 0 ]
cos(𝛽)
0

cos⁡(−29°) 0
0
1
⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡= [
− sin(−29°) 0

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sin⁡(−29°) 7408
0
][ 0 ]
cos(−29°)
0

(4𝑎)

(4𝑏)

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7408 ∙ cos(−29°) + 0 ∙ 0 + 0 ∙ sin⁡(−29°)
⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡= [
7408 ∙ 0 + 0 ∙ 1 + 0 ∙ 0
]
7408 ∙ −sin(−29°) + 0 ∙ 0 + 0 ∙ cos⁡(−29°)

(4𝑐)

6479
=[ 0 ]
3591

(4𝑑)

Next, the vector result from (4d) was rotated about the z-axis by the sensor azimuth, γ. Note that
the sensor is pointing 49° to the left (designated by the “L”), which is a negative angle in the
defined coordinate system. These calculations are provided in (5a-d):
cos⁡(𝛾) −sin⁡(𝛾)
(𝛾)
𝑅𝑧
∙ 𝑣𝐿𝑂𝑆 = [ sin⁡(𝛾) cos(𝛾)
0
0

0 6479
0] [ 0 ]
1 3591

cos⁡(−49°) −sin⁡(−49°) 0 6479
⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡= [ sin⁡(−49°) cos(−49°) 0] [ 0 ]
0
0
1 3591
6479 ∙ cos(−49°) + 0 ∙ − sin(−49°) + 3591 ∙ 0
⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡⁡= [ 6479 ∙ sin(−49°) + 0 ∙ cos⁡(−49°) + 3591 ∙ 0 ]
6479 ∙ 0 + 0 ∙ 0 + 3591 ∙ 1
⁡⁡⁡⁡4251
= [ −4890 ]
⁡⁡⁡⁡3591

(5𝑎)

(5𝑏)

(5𝑐)

(5𝑑)

The resulting vector <4,251, -4,890, 3,591> m means that the UAP was located 4,251 m ahead,
4,890 m to the left (the y-coordinate is negative), and 3,591 m below (the +z-axis is pointing
down) the F/A-18. At 3,591 m below the F/A-18 the UAP was at an altitude of 4,029 m (13,219
ft).
Location of UAP at t2
To find the UAP location at t2, the F/A-18 location had to be estimated based upon the known
flight dynamics. Because the aircraft was banking at 14° between t1 and t2, it was turning in a
curved path while moving at an average speed of 190 m/s. As it turned it also changed heading
away from the +x-axis. This rotation away from the axis can be represented as a yaw angle of φ
relative to its orientation at t1, as depicted in Figure 4.
The curved path of the F/A-18 is essentially part of a circle. The radius of that circle, or radius
of curvature, was found from (6).
𝑣𝐹𝐴18 2
𝑅𝑐 =
𝑔 ∙ tan(𝜃𝐵 )
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(6)

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Inserting vFA18 = 190 m/s, the acceleration of gravity g = 9.81 m/s2, and θB = 14° into (6), the
radius of curvature Rc was found to be 14,759 m. These values are shown in Figure 4 with the
radius of curvature and position of the F/A-18 at t2.

Figure 6: The F/A-18 traveled in a curved path from its position at t 1 to reach its position at t2.

To find yaw the angle φ at t2, note that the two φ’s in Figure 4 are equal. The total distance
travelled in the partial circle by the F/A-18 moving at 190 m/s over 13 seconds is 2,470 m. Had
the aircraft kept flying to complete a circle, it would have travelled 2·π·Rc or 92,736 m.
Therefore, only 2.66% of a 360° circle was completed thus φ = 9.6°. Since the yaw is
counterclockwise, away from the positive y-axis, it is a negative value, or φ = -9.6°.
To find the F/A-18’s position at t2, the Δx and Δy change in position from the location at t1 must
be found. Equations (7) and (8) use a cylindrical coordinate transformation [ref 8] to do this.
∆𝑦 = 𝑅𝑐 − 𝑅𝑐 ∙ cos(𝜑) = 14,759 ∙ (1 − cos(9.6°)) = 207⁡𝑚

(7)

∆𝑥 = 𝑟 ∙ sin(𝜑) = 14,759 ∙ sin(9.6°) = 2461⁡𝑚⁡

(8)

Thus, at t2, the aircraft’s displacement was [2,461, -207, 0] m, or 2,461 meters ahead and 207
meters left3 of its t1 position. This will be used momentarily to find the UAP’s location at t2.
At t2 the UAP was at a range of 6,279 m from the F/A-18 such that the pointing vector, v2, is
given by <6,279, 0 ,0> m. As with t1, the LOS vector was defined as pointed in the direction of
+x-axis, not the heading of the aircraft.4 At t2 the sensor elevation and azimuth angles were β = 35° and γ = -57°, respectively. The additional yaw of the F/A-18 of -9.6° required one additional
rotation.5 The rotation by -35° about the y-axis to the sensor elevation is given in (7a-7b).6

3 The negative is applied here to conform with our coordinate system.
4 This is not the direction the F/A-18 was pointed, otherwise there would be a y-component of the vector.

The additional yaw
angle will be handled in the rotation matrices.
5 The sensor azimuth and F/A-18 yaw could be added and performed in a single rotation. In general, the aircraft would have roll
and pitch and adding the platform angle to the sensor angle may give an incorrect result.
6 The written-out step depicting the multiplication of the matrices is skipped here.

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2

= √(4,510 − 4,251)2 + (−4,941 − (−4,890)) + (3,612 − 3,591)2

(13𝑏)

= √67,081 + 2,601 + 441 = 265⁡𝑚

(13𝑐)

Dividing this distance by the 13 seconds elapsed between t1 and t2 gave an estimated speed of
about 20 m/s or 45 mph. The heading of the UAP, φUAP, was also calculated from the Δx and Δy
components of the locations.
𝜑𝑈𝐴𝑃 = tan−1 (

(−4,890 − (−4,941))
Δ𝑦
) = tan−1 (
) = −11.14°⁡
(4,251 − 4,510)
Δ𝑥

(14)

The UAP heading is forward along the +x-axis and slightly in the negative y direction, moving in
the same general direction as the F/A-18 (-9.6°) but about 9 times slower. As a reminder, all
depicted locations and directions are relative to the defined coordinate system. Referencing
directions such as North, South, East, and West cannot be done without knowledge of the
location or heading of the F/A-18.
Estimating the UAP Path of Travel
The previous sections explained the methodology used to calculate the positions of the UAP at
the two endpoints of the time interval, t1 and t2. The resulting speed and relative heading
assumed the UAP travelled in a mostly straight, direct path between these two points. The same
mathematical approach was then applied to every frame of the thirteen-second video to estimate
the continuous path of the UAP from the first to last points. This calculation required an
estimate of the time, sensor azimuth and elevation, range to target, and the F/A-18 location for
all frames in the period. The metadata did provide relative frame times, with 0.033 seconds
elapsing between frames in the 30 Hz video.
Path of the F/A-18
The F/A-18’s altitude, bank angle, and airspeed remained constant between t1 and t2. Therefore,
the radius of the curvature of its flight path remained constant from (6). The distance traveled at
each point in time was the elapsed frame time multiplied by the speed. Location and yaw were
then calculated using the previously describe methods.
Path of the UAP
The sensor azimuth, sensor elevation, and range to the object were changing during the video.
The sensor’s display indicated these changes in integers so that many frames would pass before a
value was incremented or decremented. More accurate estimates were made by noting the
frames and times when a quantity incremented or decremented. For example, in the frame that a

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value changes from 50 to 51, the value in that frame must be 51.0 (or 50.57) in that frame. These
“change frames” were identified for the sensor azimuth, sensor elevation, and range to target in
the time interval from t1 to t2 and are represented by the black dots in the plots in Figures 5-8.
The values for all frames between 4239 seconds and 4252 seconds were estimated by fitting a 2nd
order polynomial curve to the datapoints. These curves are the dotted lines plotted in Figures 5-8
and are generally a very good fit through the black dots. The fit equation and R2 fit error
estimate are also provided. An R2 equal to 1 would be a perfect fit to the data.

Figure 7: The sensor azimuth “change frame” data points are plotted vs frame time. The dotted
line was fit to the points to estimate the azimuth for all frames in the time interval.

7 Whether the value is 50.5 or 51.0 does not make a difference as the times and positions are all relative and speed is found by

subtraction. An uncertainty error of 0.033 seconds remains for each frame but is negligible here.

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Figure 8: The sensor elevation “change frame” data points are plotted vs frame time. The dotted line was fit to the
points to estimate the elevation for all frames in the time interval.

Figure 9: The range to target “change frame” data points are plotted vs frame time. The dotted line was fit to the
points to estimate the range for all frames in the time interval.

With values estimated for all frames and times, the vector rotation and point translation
methodology described in the previous section were applied to find the UAP’s three-dimensional
flight path. The resulting path through the x-y plane is plotted in Figure 8. The UAP’s direction
of travel is a relatively straight path from the top left to the bottom right. The altitude profile is
provided in Figure 9 and shows the UAP rising about 10 m (30 ft) with a slow, curving descent

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near the end. The bends at the end of both curves may indicate a slight change of direction but is
more likely due to residual error in the estimation of the F/A-18 flight path.

Figure 10: The position of the UAP in the x-y plane is shown over the time considered. The direction of flight is
from the upper left to the lower right.

Figure 11: The altitude of the UAP as a function of time indicates a slow rise over most of the
path with a slight descent in the last few seconds.

The beginning and end points of the path defined by Figures 8 and 9 were compared to the
results from the end-point analysis in the previous section to verify the path calculations are
consistent and that the methodology was correctly applied. The results are provided in Table II
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and show good agreement. Because the frame-by-frame method estimates the parameters to a
better precision than just integers and more accurately assigns the time to each value, it is
presumed that this method is more accurate8.
Table II: Comparison of results from the two-point and Continuous Path analysis.

Method
Continuous Path
First / Last Frame

Starting Point

Ending Point

[4284, -4889, 3601] m [4500, -4953, 3592] m
[4251, -4890, 3591] m [4510, -4941, 3612] m

Distance

Speed

226 m
265 m

17.4 m/s (38.9 mph)
20.4 m/s (45.6 mph)

Incorporating Prevailing Winds
To this point, analysis has assumed no effect from the speed and direction of the winds aloft on
the flight path of the F/A-18. The speed on the sensor display in Mach number represents the
relative air speed of the aircraft and does not consider the ambient wind velocity. With a
methodology in place to calculate the UAP locations, the possible effects of the winds at altitude
were explored. This is done by adding the speed and direction of the wind to the speed and
direction of the F/A-18 to obtain a new flight path, then determining the UAP flight path as
described in the previous sections.
Wind Speed and Direction
No information on atmospheric conditions was provided with the UAP report or video, only a
time and general location. Therefore, the historical data for wind speed, direction, and altitude
were sourced from a historical database (ref 9]. The data for the appropriate date and location
were found and were within 15-20 minutes of the time reported with the “Go Fast” event. The
windspeed and direction are plotted in Figure 10. At 25,000 ft (7,620 m), the windspeed was
approximately 101 kts (52.0 m/s) at a heading of 255°, from primarily the West-South-West and
blowing toward the East-North-East. At 13,000 ft (3,692 m), the wind speed was 60 kts (30.9
m/s) at a heading of 265°, primarily from the west9.

All analytic results are relative to the accuracy of the F/A 18’s estimated flight path. It is not possible to state the accuracy for
certain without knowing the exact path of the UAP.
9 Going forward, we will use the metric system. Values here are in kts and ft to represent the data as taken from the source.
8

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Figure 12: Wind speed (left axis) and direction (right axis) for at the approximate location of the “Go Fast” event.

Because the exact location and heading of F/A-18 are not known, the flight path could not be
expressed in terms of compass directions. Thus, the effect of windspeed was assessed for all
possible directions; however, four cases are described first to illustrate the methodology: a
tailwind, headwind, a crosswind from the left, and a crosswind from the right relative to the F/A18. These directions were defined at the initial t1 location in the same coordinate system
described in Figures 3 and 4. In this coordinate system, a tailwind was defined as a heading of
0° (in the direction of the +x axis), a crosswind from the left at 90° (in the direction of the +y
axis), a headwind at 180° (in the direction of the -x axis), and a crosswind from the right at 270°
(in the direction of the -y axis).
Adjusted Flight Paths of the F/A-18
The wind velocity (speed and heading) is additive to the aircraft speed and heading at every
point. Assuming the wind is constant over the 13 second interval, the wind will essentially
“push” the F/A-18 in the direction of the wind from its calculated flight path with no wind.
Figure 11 shows adjusted flight paths accounting for wind direction with the no-wind flight path
as a black line for reference.

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Text continues in the original file (26 pages).

Story: Teardrop twins: two crews, 3,000 km apart, filmed the same "tail" UAP

• DOW-UAP-PR028: Greece, Jan 2024: the "tail" hangs straight down
• DOW-UAP-PR029: Gulf of Oman, Jun 2024: same shape, same straight-down tail
• DOW-UAP-D025: Mission report for the Greece video
• DOW-UAP-D027: Mission report for the Gulf of Oman video
• AARO-AARO_GoFast_Case_Resolution_Card_Methodology_Final.pdf: Why a far, slow object can look fast
• Full story and evidence

Same topic: title & summary match

• Go Fast UAP
• SASC AARO Open Hearing Case Slides 19Nov2024
• AARO Mission Brief (2025)

Same agency: AARO

• AARO-956955 — Navy 2021 Flyby video
• Al Taqaddum Case Resolution
• Mt Etna Object
• Puerto Rico Objects
• Western US Image
• Atmospheric Wakes Image