Overview

• Thermal footage recorded on October 30, 2024 off Yemen shows an MQ-9 Reaper firing a Hellfire missile at a luminous spherical object that then continues on its path.
• Rep. Eric Burlison presented the previously classified video at a House hearing, said it came from an anonymous whistleblower, and called for third‑party verification.
• Journalist George Knapp told the hearing there are banks of similar recordings that Congress has not accessed, a claim reported without independent corroboration.
• Veterans testifying under oath recounted prior UAP encounters and alleged information suppression, adding momentum to calls for transparency and whistleblower protections.
• Experts at the hearing said no known U.S. system could survive such an impact, and AARO’s 2024 report found no extraterrestrial evidence while leaving many cases unexplained; some coverage reported MQ-9 authorization to engage UAPs, which remains unconfirmed.