Newly released documents obtained by The Black Vault through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) under case 21-F-0299 reveal email exchanges within the Department of Defense (DoD) discussing a photograph reportedly showing a triangular Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) emerging from the ocean. The FOIA request was originally filed in December 2020. Along with these documents, John “Jay” Stratton, former Director of the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF), has now spoken exclusively to The Black Vault about this claim, offering brand-new clarification that no such photograph depicting a triangular craft emerging from the ocean was ever received by the UAPTF.
The long-rumored photograph in question gained significant attention following a December 2020 article by The Debrief, which described an “extremely clear” image of a large triangular object with rounded edges and white spherical lights in each corner. According to the article, the photograph was allegedly taken in 2019 by an F/A-18 fighter pilot after the object emerged from the ocean and ascended vertically. The story quickly became one of the most talked-about pieces of evidence that the DoD was allegedly withholding, with references by public figures such as Luis Elizondo which fueled widespread discussion across social media.
The FOIA-released emails, dated December 3 and 4, 2020, show internal communication within the DoD discussing The Debrief article. In one email addressed to Susan Gough (her name is redacted in the “to:” line but not in the body of the email), someone (name redacted) from the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (DCNO) office states, “Jay [Stratton] tells me the photo is part of the active investigation, so it would probably be withheld from release for that reason.”
Hellbound and Down 