The 2021 Disclosure of the USS Kidd UAP Swarm: Analysis of Declassified Naval Deck Logs and Intelligence Briefings

The July 2019 Swarm Incident\n\nBetween July 14 and July 30, 2019, a group of United States Navy destroyers, including the USS Kidd, USS Rafael Peralta, and USS Russell, conducted exercises in a restricted training range off the coast of Southern California. During these maneuvers, the ships were repeatedly approached and shadowed by multiple 'unidentified aerial platforms.' Declassified deck logs and internal Navy communications, obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and released starting in 2021, reveal a sustained series of encounters that challenged the ships' security protocols. The objects, described by crew members as 'drones' or 'spheres,' displayed flight capabilities that far exceeded commercial drone technology, including the ability to hover in high winds and operate for hours without visible refueling or landing.\n\n## Analysis of Declassified Deck Logs\n\nThe USS Kidd's deck logs provide a minute-by-minute account of the sightings. On the night of July 14, at approximately 10:00 PM, the logs record 'two UAVs spotted' near the ship. Shortly thereafter, the number of objects increased, with logs noting that the craft maintained a steady position relative to the moving destroyer. The documents confirm that the Navy deployed SNOOPIE (Shipboard Nautical Sensor Image Interceptor) teams to capture photographic and video evidence. Furthermore, communications between the ships and the nearby Channel Islands Air National Guard station indicate that the objects were not part of any known U.S. military exercise. The persistence of the swarm—occurring over multiple nights and involving up to six objects at once—suggests a highly coordinated surveillance effort by an unknown actor.\n\n## Pentagon Response and AARO Evaluation\n\nFollowing the 2021 disclosure of these logs by investigative researchers, the Department of Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was tasked with reviewing the incident. During Congressional testimony in 2022 and 2023, Navy officials confirmed the authenticity of the logs but remained cryptic about the origin of the objects. While some officials suggested they might be sophisticated foreign adversarial drones, the flight characteristics recorded in the declassified logs—specifically the ability to maintain station at 16 knots for over 90 minutes in low visibility—continue to be a point of contention for intelligence analysts. The USS Kidd case remains a primary example of modern naval UAP encounters, highlighting the vulnerability of advanced military assets to anomalous aerial platforms in domestic waters.