The Pentagon has released declassified footage of a metallic sphere captured by a US Reaper drone in the Middle East, as officials confirm they are tracking over 650 unidentified flying objects. The video, recorded on July 12, 2022, shows a silver orb zipping past the drone at high speed before the camera locks onto it.
Dr Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), presented the footage during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 19. He stated that while the object does not appear to exhibit anomalous behaviour, it remains unidentified. The Pentagon has not disclosed the exact location of the sighting beyond the Middle East region.
Kirkpatrick also revealed that the majority of the 650 tracked UFOs are concentrated off the East and West Coasts of the US, as well as in the Middle East and parts of the South China Sea. He noted that a small number of these objects display advanced flight characteristics that could potentially be attributed to Chinese technology.
The declassification comes amid a broader push for transparency on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP). A 2022 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) documented 510 UAP sightings since 2005, with 247 new reports added in the latest assessment. Despite the uptick in reports, the Pentagon has stated there is no credible evidence that any of the objects originate from outer space.
