The United States has shared the first ever footage of a UFO flying over an active conflict zone as a mysterious metallic sphere is seen whizzing across the skies at unusual speed.
In startling footage, a US Reaper drone captured the shiny orb zooming underneath it in a conflict zone in the Middle East last year.
US military officials have openly admitted they have no idea what it was or where it came from - and they refuse to say where exactly the footage was filmed.
One expert, investigative journalist and documentary maker Jeremy Corbell, has said the mere existence of the UFO creates "the probability of unintended crossfire" and "the potential for misidentification could be devastating".
Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), attended a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities on Wednesday, for the first time since the US Air Force spotted and shot down the Chinese spy balloon.
The hearing was shown the now-declassified footage shot from an American MQ-9 Reaper drone which appears to be monitoring a group of people in a desert setting.
But just seconds into the footage a flying orb comes hurtling towards the USD 28 million drone, passing underneath it at high speed.
The movement is picked up by the drone's hi-tech camera, which switches targets and begins following the mysterious globe.
Dr Kirkpatrick revealed that his team is currently tracking 650 cases and confirmed that 52% of UFOs are spheres. He shared two videos which have recently been declassified – with one remaining unresolved.
He told the hearing: "It happened in the Middle East last year where an MQ-9 Reaper drone spotted an apparent spherical object via electro-optical sensors," he explained.
"You will see it come through the top of the screen, it goes and the camera will slew to follow it.
"You will see it pop in and out of the screen as it goes past the field there.
"This is essentially all of the data we have associated with this event from some years ago. It is going to be virtually impossible to fully identify that, just based off of that video."
The sighting bears a startling similarity to the "Mosul orb" footage taken in 2016 over Iraq, which was recently released by investigative filmmaker Jeremy Corbell.
Speaking to Daily Star, Jeremy claimed similar "spherical UAP" have been seen around the globe "since humans took to the skies".
He continued: "When it comes to UAP - it has never been determined who made them, where they are from or how they operate. Or if it has - the public has yet to be properly informed."
Jeremy also told Fox News that "this admission causes me to reflect on the ‘Mosul Orb’ image that George Knapp and I obtained and released on our program WeaponizedPodcast.com."
He added: "As you know, we are shooting things down over the United States of America now without really identifying them before we shoot them down," he said during February's interview, in reference to the four aerial objects, including a Chinese spy balloon, that were shot down in American airspace.
"The rules of engagement of how and why we can fire upon objects are completely being rewritten right now."
Dr Kirkpatrick claimed that, as yet, there was no data that showed such craft were extraterrestrial, used off-world technology or defied laws of physics.
But that appeared contrary to previous sightings of UAP, which have been confirmed as authentic by the Pentagon.
One such incident, the Nimitz UFO in 2004, involved a craft supposedly dropping thousands of feet in a matter of seconds.
Jeremy questioned the evidence Dr Kirkpatrick had been presented with to make the statement.
"I do wonder what evidence he has been exposed to regarding UFOs and their origin and capability," he continued.
"He might be limited in his ability to obtain the materials and scientific data necessary to build an informed conclusion at this time.
"I would hope he and the AARO would be given proper access to make their determinations.
"History has shown us that without the right authority - secrets held about the nature of the UFO phenomenon - will remain secret."
The orb appears to be a dead ringer for some of the small UFOs used in the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The footage was obtained from the US Department of Defense, who says it was filmed somewhere in the Middle East on 12th July 2022.
It was declassified and made public on Wednesday, 19th April.
The US DoD said in a statement: "In an open hearing on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 19, Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), shared a video that depicts an apparent silver, orb-like object cross the sensor’s field of view.
"This clip was taken by an MQ-9 in the Middle East, and while AARO assesses the object in the clip is not exhibiting anomalous behaviour, the object remains unidentified.
"This video is a representative example of many of the cases AARO receives where there is limited data surrounding the observation.
"These cases are retained in AARO’s active archive pending the discovery of additional information/data that may lead to case resolution."
The case remains unresolved due to a lack of data, with the US DoD saying "the object remains unidentified".
Jeremy, who hit headlines in 2021 when he posted a collection of authentic UAP videos, is now calling on Kirkpatrick and the Pentagon to declassify the Mosul orb.
"That case [the Mosul orb] has been used to educate the Armed Services, Intelligence Community, stakeholders in private industry, defence contractors, political representatives, etc.
"There is no reason to withhold that piece of evidence from the American and global public.
"Over-classification is corrosive to public trust. The public has a right to see the “Mosul Orb” video - and our representatives have a duty to release it."
