NUFORC Sighting 179451

Occurred: 2001-01-23 22:00 Local
Reported: 2023-11-24 06:36 Pacific
Duration: a few minutes
No of observers: 1 - Military

Location: New York, NY, USA
Location details: Classified

Shape: Light
Color: bright white no othe
Estimated Size: unable to determine
Viewed From: Boat
Direction from Viewer: Bearing 260 to 270 True
Angle of Elevation: 25
Closest Distance: Hard to tell looking through a submarine periscope
Estimated Speed: nano seconds, Faster than any jet we have.
Characteristics: Lights on object

At periscope depth I thought it was a squadron of helicopters in formation. at 12, 2, 6, 8, 10 oclock and 1 at 3 outside the formation.

This is hard for me, it has been almost 23 years since I witnessed this but after watching Unidentified: Inside America's UFO investigation and seeing the enlisted personnel report what they saw I started to work up the courage to tell about what I witnessed.

It was my last underway January 2001 before I retired officially on 01 March 2001. My fourth Los Angeles class fast attack submarine. My rate and rank was a Fire Control Technician Senior Chief FTCS(SS/DV) The DV was for Navy Scuba Diver the SS has multiple meanings, Submersible Ship and Silent Service which most of us go by. We do not talk about the stuff we did and only a few saw things through the periscope.

It was a night in January 2001 we were heading south off the east coast and coming to periscope depth. As an FT I grew up in the control room tracking contacts to make sure we did not run into anything while coming to PD. Also maintaining and operating weapons systems. The FTOW (Fire Control Technician of the Watch) lived on the periscope on the surface and at PD after the Officer of the Deck arrived at PD and deemed it safe. I went up to the control room that night to look out the periscope (it never got old) at the night sky and stars, pretty sure it was a new moon very clear, great visibility.

I asked permission to get on the scope and did a safety sweep in low power, no visible surface contacts. The seas were calm probably sea state one no problem maintaining depth.

On my second sweep I noticed a formation in the sky, definitely not on the surface. At first i thought it was a formation of helicopters but something wasn't right. I was the only enlisted guy that was qualified as a contact coordinator so I knew every lighting configuration for any sea vessel and Aircraft/Helicopters.

This is what I saw. Very bright white lights, no running light no blinking lights. There were 6. The formation was as follows 12, 2, 6, 8, 10 O'clock and one at 3 O'clock outside the formation at half the diameter of the formation. These lights really stuck out. I hit the bearing mark on the scope to get a bearing in the fire control system, which was around 260 to 270 true off our starboard bow around 060 relative. I could not determine range but I could see the entire formation at 18X magnification on the periscope. I asked sonar if they had any noise on the bearing because I said it looks like a formation of helicopters, they had no noise. The elevation was approximately 20 to 25 degrees off the horizon, again that's why I kept thinking helicopters.

Then I flipped to night vision on the scope and all I saw was very bright white lights, I could see all the stars around them and behind them so it was not one large object.

Then in the blink of an eye the contact at 3 O'clock went to 9 O'clock at the same distance (half the diameter) outside of the formation. Goose bumps on my arms. Seriously if I had blinked I would have missed it. I said to my 1st class who was on watch that helicopters do not move like that and he said what is it a UFO and I just looked at him and said nothing because I could not believe what I just saw, Never seen anything move that fast in my life. I then made a safety sweep and went back to the formation. Then the Officer of the deck ordered the diving officer to proceed to blank feet, So I brought the scope to zero relative and lowered it.

The entire few minutes I observed them they never changed bearing, they had no bearing rate, just hovering except for the one that moved.

I did not say anything to the Officer of the Deck because the whole thing was weird and it was 2001. I mentioned it to another chief when I got down to the chiefs quarters, but was left with more questions than answers.

On the show Unidentified: Inside America's UFO investigation there was a Chief Bosan Mate that saw a simular formation in 2006 I believe.

I wish I had taken video, more pictures and asked the Officer of the Deck to take a look. That would have been more proof, which I do not have a single bit of.

Twenty years, four subs, seen a lot of really cool things through the scope but I will never forget this as my most memorable. The only person I have shared this with is my current better half of 10 years now and she probably already forgot.

I want to thank the Military personnel that report these things and glad to see there is proof of these objects.

I am respectfully request that my personnel information stay out of this report . I know I agreed to the authorization but would like to maintain my privacy.

Posted 2023-12-09