What is forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and why does it matter for UAP video?

“Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) is a thermal-imaging sensor that detects heat signatures rather than visible light. Most of the modern UAP video in the Pentagon's PURSUE catalog — including the 2017 Navy GOFAST clip and the 2023 F-16 Lake Huron engagement — was captured on FLIR sensors mounted on military aircraft.”

Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) is a passive thermal-imaging sensor technology that detects mid-wave or long-wave infrared radiation emitted by objects warmer than their surroundings. Unlike visible-light cameras, FLIR sensors work at night, see through smoke and light cloud, and can detect engine exhaust, body heat, and aerodynamic friction signatures that are invisible to the naked eye. The vast majority of modern military UAP video in the Pentagon's PURSUE catalog was captured on FLIR sensors mounted on tactical aircraft — including the 2017 USS Theodore Roosevelt GOFAST clip (F/A-18F ATFLIR pod), the 2023 USAF F-16C Lake Huron engagement (DOW-UAP-PR071), the Iraq May 2022 mission report (DOW-UAP-D14), the Syrian 'instant acceleration' clip (DOW-UAP-PR051), and the Iran four-UAP formation (DOW-UAP-PR050). FLIR's strength — surfacing thermal signatures invisible to visible-light cameras — is also its analytical limitation: 'black-hot' versus 'white-hot' polarity inversions and gimbal-lock artifacts can both mimic anomalous behavior.