F-22 Over Gulf of Mexico: Diamond Formation, Floating Orb, Radar Failure — Congress Saw the Image, You Didn’t
During a test mission over the Gulf of Mexico in February 2023, an F-22 pilot based at Eglin Air Force Base observed a diamond formation of four craft and a large floating orb. The pilot’s radar and FLIR system both malfunctioned at 4,000 feet from the object. The image was manually captured. Rep. Matt Gaetz saw the radar sequence and image — and Congress got a FOIA-released pilot sketch. The object: rounded grey base, reddish-orange slot, three-dimensional cone top with segmented panels.
What the Pilot Saw
The F-22 was on a test mission in clear airspace over the Gulf of Mexico — meaning no other craft should have been there. The pilot identified a radar sequence showing four unidentified objects in a clear diamond formation. Approaching to investigate, the pilot encountered a large orb at 16,000 feet altitude. At 4,000 feet distance, the aircraft’s radar malfunctioned and the FLIR system failed — requiring the pilot to manually capture a single image.
They saw a sequence of four craft in a clear diamond formation… One of the pilots goes to check out that diamond formation and sees a large floating orb. When he approached, his radar went down, his FLIR system malfunctioned.
— Rep. Matt Gaetz, House Oversight Subcommittee
The FOIA-Released Sketch
The pilot’s sketch was released via a FOIA request obtained by journalist Micah Hanks and published by The Black Vault. The object described: a rounded, grey bottom section with a reddish-orange illuminated slot, and an upper section resembling a three-dimensional cone with gunmetal grey segmented panels. That profile — an orb base with a conic upper section and an illuminated horizontal feature — does not correspond to any known aircraft.
The Classified Radar Data
Gaetz stated he and he alone in Congress has observed the radar sequence showing the full diamond formation track. The image of UAP-1 was released but the radar data remains classified. The combination of four-craft formation geometry, EM systems failure at 4,000 feet, and an object profile unlike anything in the known air inventory represents one of the most significant recent military UAP encounters on record — yet has received minimal mainstream coverage.
The EM failure pattern at proximity continues across the Tehran 1976 incident, Malmstrom 1967, Belgian F-16 intercepts, and now this 2023 F-22 engagement. The craft are not merely unidentified — they are actively interfering with sensors and weapons systems.