DAY, Kevin
Navy air intercept controller Kevin Day was aboard USS Princeton during the 2004 encounters that became known as the Tic Tac incident. His account describes what the ship’s radar operators saw.
DAY served as senior chief operations specialist aboard the guided missile cruiser USS *Princeton* (CG-59) during November 2004 Nimitz Carrier Strike Group training exercises off San Diego. As the ship's senior air intercept controller, Day was responsible for tracking aerial contacts and coordinating fighter aircraft intercepts when multiple unidentified radar returns appeared over several days beginning November 10, 2004.
Day reported detecting groups of objects on the ship's SPY-1 radar system that exhibited unusual flight characteristics, appearing at altitudes of 80,000 feet before dropping to near sea level within seconds. The contacts would remain stationary for periods before accelerating to high speeds without apparent propulsion signatures. Day's radar observations provided the initial impetus for launching F/A-18 Super Hornet interceptors on November 14, leading to Commander David Fravor's visual encounter with the object subsequently dubbed the "Tic Tac."
Following his 2017 retirement after 20 years of naval service, Day began publicly discussing the radar data he observed during the incident. His testimony corroborated accounts provided by Fravor and other personnel, establishing a consistent timeline of events spanning multiple days. Day emphasized that the radar contacts represented something beyond conventional aircraft capabilities, citing the objects' instantaneous vertical movements and lack of traditional propulsion signatures.
Day's technical expertise in radar systems operation and his detailed logs from the incident have made his testimony valuable to Pentagon UAP investigations and Congressional hearings on unidentified aerial phenomena.
Bibliography:
- USS Princeton Radar Logs November 2004
- History Channel Unidentified Series 2019
- Pentagon UAP Task Force Reports
- Congressional UAP Hearings 2022