Incident · 15 February 2023 · Warning area W-291, off southern California
USS Jackson “tic-tac” formation
Also known as USS Jackson 2023, Wiggins encounter, W-291 2023
On the evening of 15 February 2023 the littoral combat ship USS Jackson was operating in the Whiskey 291 warning area off southern California. Operations Specialist Senior Chief Alexandro Wiggins, moving between the ship's combat information centre and the bridge wing, says he picked up a contact on radar and went out to look: a light low on the horizon about seven or eight nautical miles away that rose slowly out of — he believes — the sea, then shot up to join three similar objects. The ship's SAFIRE infrared camera, slewed onto the contacts at his request, recorded the four together before they left at once with near-instantaneous acceleration, and the radar tracks dropped.
Wiggins — whom Rep. Eric Burlison called the first currently serving witness to come forward — described the encounter under oath on 9 September 2025 with the Navy's permission and in his personal capacity. He said the crew in the combat information centre all watched it, that no one debriefed him afterwards, and that the full-resolution footage had been given to Congress; frames from the video had already been made public by journalists, and he said he contacted retired Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet after recognising his own voice on it. He was careful to say he could not confirm visually that the object surfaced, and does not know what it was.
The account rests on Wiggins's testimony and the leaked sensor video; the Navy and AARO have not published an analysis of the event.
Sources: Official hearing transcript CHRG-119hhrg61718 · House Oversight hearing video (9 September 2025)
Facts and claims
- documented In his sworn statement to the House Oversight task force on 9 September 2025, Operations Specialist Alexandro Wiggins testified that at about 19:15 PST on 15 February 2023, in the W-291 warning area, the ship's sensors showed a self-luminous tic-tac-shaped object that "emerged from the ocean", joined three similar objects, and departed with them near-instantaneously. He said he saw no propulsion signatures on the SAFIRE imaging system and that the radar tracks dropped afterwards. The transcript records the testimony, not its accuracy. — Alexandro Wiggins Source: Hearing transcript: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (Sept 9, 2025)
- claimed Under oath at the House Oversight task-force hearing of 9 September 2025, Senior Chief Alexandro Wiggins testified that on 15 February 2023 at about 19:15 PST, aboard USS Jackson in the Whiskey 291 warning area off southern California, “A self-luminous tic-tac-shaped object emerged from the ocean before linking up with three other similar objects. The four then disappeared simultaneously with a high-synchronized, near-instantaneous acceleration.” — Alexandro Wiggins Source: doc-transcript-2025-09-09.pdf
- claimed Wiggins said he tracked the object on radar first, then saw it from the port bridge wing at about seven to eight nautical miles; it rose slowly to 3,000–4,000 feet before accelerating, he estimated, to Mach 1–2, and the ship's SAFIRE sensor showed four objects. He observed no sonic boom, exhaust or control surfaces, and the radar tracks dropped after the departure. — Alexandro Wiggins Source: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection at 2:31:35
- claimed Wiggins said the encounter lasted about 5–7 minutes, was reported to the tactical action officer, and that no after-action report or debrief followed to his knowledge; he said the full-resolution footage has been provided to Congress and that he could not visually confirm the object came out of the water. — Alexandro Wiggins Source: doc-transcript-2025-09-09.pdf
Connected files
Incidents
- USS Nimitz “Tic Tac” encounter (similar to) — Wiggins described a “tic-tac-shaped object” emerging from the ocean off southern California
People
- Eric Burlison (raised by)
- Alexandro Wiggins (witnesses)
Videos
- Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (discussed in)
- Top Navy Admiral: “The Ocean is FULL OF UFOs!” (discussed in)
Mentioned in this file
- Tim Gallaudet (Person)
- Hearing transcript: Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection (Sept 9, 2025) (Document)
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Organization)
- All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (Program)