I'd like to propose an idea for establishing more contextual information regarding the 2004 Nimitz incidents. Many analysts have suggested that experimental drone testing, either civilian or military, could be a factor @LtTimMcMillan @Deepneuron @PostDisclosure @ChristopherKMe4

While of course this kind of testing would be highly sensitive, it is possible that at least some information might be captured in routine "data exhaust." For example, the FCC requires experimental radio licenses that often pertain to drone tests. This data is publicly available

In fact, mil. contractor drone tests often DO show up in this data. It is isn't unreasonable to think at least some UAP sightings might be due to such testing that we have at least some public information on

I've developed prototype software to compile ~490,000 FCC experimental licenses, making them searchable by date and geographic parameters.

Here are active licenses I pick up in the system for November 2004 in 1500km radius around San Fran.

Here is an example of something potentially related to UAV testing (but probably totally unrelated to Nimitz)

The point of all of this is certainly not to "solve" the Nimitz case. In fact, this data probably doesn't have the answers. But it can help us reduce at least some uncertainty and get a picture of what kind of general testing was going on in the region at the time

Also, a tool like this could be useful in investigating other strange sightings by checking drone testing in the area at that time. Perhaps others have pursued this strategy already @ChristopherKMe4 @alejandrotrojas

Others with familiarity with the procurement/policy world might have insights into how a broader data exhaust strategy could help us peel back some uncertainty @james_greywood

You can get the raw data yourself here: http://reboot.fcc.gov/license-view/  You can generally find informative related documentation and application details via callsign searches

I'd like to eventually make the whole system publicly available, but it is still pretty raw. If any researchers are interested in testing it and seeing if it is useful, let me know. This is a work in progress; thoughts very welcome

Personally, I'd rather be digging for new data and learning something than debating the same old videos. Let me know if you have a data idea!