UAP Hearing New Video - Yemen Orb

Looks like the Houthis were deploying a balloon system which carried drone or glide bomb payload. You can see that after the balloon is deflated the payload freefalls/disperses.

Can you actually see that? Or is that just an interpretation?
 
After impact, the balloon appears to lose ballast, while the mini-drones attempt to re-dock with the now-flailing balloon.
Are they maybe shaped something like these interceptor drones used in Ukraine?

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24,525 ft altitude? HAT - height above target

View attachment 83799
And this is visible at a time when the object is not locked (frame ~1310), so the "target" in this frame is the ocean surface, meaning 24525 is the altitude above the water. That number only make sense if the numbers in the lower right like 3.1NM / 2.4NM are slant / horizontal, as @Mick West showed.

I feel like it'd be odd for a targeting system to not display the slant angle. I wonder if the uncropped original video shows that. It is frustrating that so many videos are of this form which excludes information not even due to official redaction, but just because whatever recording-of-a-recording process used failed to get the whole window of the original video in frame.

~15 frames after impact the system loses track of the object and the slant/horizontal numbers spend 2 frames resetting before showing the new values 3 frames later. This probably is meaningless, just thought I'd note it.

Frame: slant/horizontal
603: 3.1/2.3
604: 1.4/1
605: 0/0
606: 6.1/4.6

Those are all plausibly roundings of the exact same similar triangular ratios. I played around with numbers in the orig columns to get unrounded numbers that come out to the same ratio. (note: these are not the only values that work, I just picked 1.35 arbitrarily because it was a clean value near the middle)
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Just a friendly reminder that this video was anonymously given to Burlison, and has no chain of custody. There a significant chance that it is not a good faith leak, but instead something conventional that was planted specifically for you to debunk, as a way to discredit the hearing and distract from witness testimony about real anomalous UAP.
 
Can you actually see that? Or is that just an interpretation?

I can't speak to any specific balloon system, but the comment about potential actions by the Houthis inspired me to start looking for news stories about US activity in and around Yemen in October and November of 2024. For example, I found this report by the Guardian, dated October 17, 2024, which reports the US used B-52 bombers in Yemen. The story also includes this published response by the Houthis: ""America will pay the price for its aggression on Yemen, and as we have said before, its aggression will not deter Yemen from its stance in support of Gaza," Nasruddin Amer, the deputy head of the media office for the Houthis, said on X."

I realize this article says nothing about the thing we are seeing in this video, but it does support that there was heavy military activity in Yemen by the US a few days before this video was captured, and that as of October 17, 2024, Yemen was vowing America would "pay the price for its aggression." I think this provides indirect support that (1) the thing we are seeing might be the product of the Houthis or some sympathetic group looking to retaliate against American interests, and/or (2) that the US was on extra alert and perceived this object as potentially hostile, given the US had just carried out a military operation in the area days before.

If there is any interest here I might continue looking for open source news publications in and around this dates to help shine a light on the geopolitical conditions.

Edit: Have we confirmed the date of the video? The clip I just saw of Rep. Burlison begins with him saying the video was taken 10/30/24.
 
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Oh, I think there is very little doubt they believed this was some sort of anti-ship missile or drone sent into the Gulf by the Houthis or similar group.

Given the date of the video is October 2024 this is beyond the major campaign from late 2023 into mid-2024, but they were still making attacks during this period.
Which raises the question, then, why is this being presented as a UAP/UFO? At what point in the process did this go from shooting down something the Houthis were believed to have launched at them to "wow, another amazing UFO!"?

Not a question we are in a position to answer, here at Metabunk, but mentioned here in case anybody on a congressional staff is wandering by to see what we make of this. Your boss, hypothetical Congressional staffer, ought to want to know why they are being shown normal stuff and told it is something mysterious and unexplainable, and is in a position to insist on an answer to that question. Wasting Congress's time with this and presenting falsely categorized videos to a Congressional hearing seems a good example of waste, fraud and abuse...
 
It would take debris 45-60 seconds to fall to sea level from 12,000 feet, so we would also see debris falling for a fair amount of time.
Depends on the mass and air resistance and what terminal velocity it could reach. Could be longer.

Which raises the question, then, why is this being presented as a UAP/UFO? At what point in the process did this go from shooting down something the Houthis were believed to have launched at them to "wow, another amazing UFO!"?
I think Knapp sort of hinted at an answer here. The answer is that someone in the US Department of Defense is collecting short clips from other videos, putting them into a folder of "UFO" videos on some shared file server, and then others are then finding them and spreading rumors about them and sometimes leaking them without context that others at the time the video was recorded may have had.
 
Does it seem likely that the missile, if that's what it is, is flying more or less level as it crosses the frame? Or would it more likely have been ascending steeply? I'm thinking that if we're seeing level flight then there are good reasons to think it's not a missile.
 
Does it seem likely that the missile, if that's what it is, is flying more or less level as it crosses the frame? Or would it more likely have been ascending steeply? I'm thinking that if we're seeing level flight then there are good reasons to think it's not a missile.
Not sure which thing that flies in this video you are referring to.

If the "UAP," the observation that it is likely slow moving and only seems to clip along due to parallax would of course also support it not being a missile.

If the second thing that flies in and hits the first is what you mean, and it is not a missile, what might it be?
 
Does it seem likely that the missile, if that's what it is, is flying more or less level as it crosses the frame? Or would it more likely have been ascending steeply? I'm thinking that if we're seeing level flight then there are good reasons to think it's not a missile.
I know nothing about them, but I found a video that states hellfire missiles can be controlled via software to use various approach trajectories. If that is accurate I don't think angle of approach would rule it in or out either way.

External Quote:
These upgrades included a new digital autopilot, a larger warhead, an improved seeker, and reprogrammable software used to select different attack patterns in which to approach and strike its target.
Source:
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKbt17psuzw&t=148s
(02:28)
 
Does it seem likely that the missile, if that's what it is, is flying more or less level as it crosses the frame? Or would it more likely have been ascending steeply? I'm thinking that if we're seeing level flight then there are good reasons to think it's not a missile.
The missile was allegedly fired by another drone. I think the video makes sense for level flight or an angle of attack with a shallow vertical component.

However Burlison has now stated that he got the video from an anonymous source (who stripped all metadata?), which calls into question all the contextual details surrounding it like where it took place and when. Others on X have raised the possibility that this is actually from a filming of a test exercise of hellfire missile use on a test air target, since hellfires were designed for and are usually used against ground targets.
 
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However Burlison has now stated that he got the video from an anonymous source (who stripped all metadata?), which calls into question all the contextual details surrounding it like where it took place and when.
These points, combined with Knapps precognition of the video, are enough clues to suggest this is another Jeremy Corbell special IMO.

Videos of prosaic events that have been de-contextualized or edited have (sadly) become his calling card.
 
I know nothing about them, but I found a video that states hellfire missiles can be controlled via software to use various approach trajectories. If that is accurate I don't think angle of approach would rule it in or out either way.

If, as I agree, the target is likely a balloon, its size might be in the neighborhood of 0.5 to 1.0 meters in diameter, common sizes for Mylar balloons (the debris has more of an appearance of Mylar than, say, latex.) It could be larger, of course. Unfortunately I don't know what the camera's FOV at the target distance is, but if the video image is accurately representing the shape and size of the object, and the object is ~0.5m across, and the missile's flight is more-or-less level, (a lot of "ifs") then that would make the path of the missile across the frame only about 20 to 25 meters long. A Hellfire missile flies at up to 450 meters per second, according to Wikipedia, which means in the time it took the missile to cross the frame—around 1.75 seconds, assuming the video is running in real time—the missile should have traveled close to 780 meters. Obviously, if the missile was in a steep climb to the target then that would dramatically change all these estimations. Also, the missile enters the frame and then angles about 45 degrees toward the target, hits it, and turns again to exit the frame traveling in pretty much the same direction it was traveling when it entered. Assuming I laid the problem out correctly, a missile traveling at 450 m/sec making a 45 degree turn within about 10 meters would incur upward of 2000 Gs of lateral force. All of this led me to wonder if the projectile is really a missile at all, or if maybe it's something much slower and more manueverable?
 
ABC News reports that the glowing orb was stuck by a missile that bounced off of it, then it the orb flew on undamaged.

"A lie can run halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on..."
Indeed. Just leave it to the media to screw with our heads. They (the media) are in my view the cause of all the stupid non sense we see in the world, or at least inflating it.
The world would be much better of without the media outlets. They only create brain rot.
 
Can you actually see that? Or is that just an interpretation?

It is an interpretation. After the balloon deflates you can see three objects that look of similar size detach. It could be a Houthi balloon/payload design or possibly with assistance from Iran? Claimed date of the video is 30th October 2024. It would be interesting to see what the winds were like on that day? There is also the possibility that it was a Chinese spy balloon design carrying a payload? Perhaps launched from a ship in the region? US forces have reported Chinese spy balloon activity over the Middle East.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/...over-mideast-posed-no-threat-three-star-says/

3 objects detaching after the balloon is hit and deflates/breaks up. Possibly payload?


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[from 2:09:00] when Luna requests the video is replayed she asks, "does this video scare you guys?" after she's just characterized it as "splitting" the hellfire missile. It is like the Asch group conformity test occuring in real time. All avenues toward a prosaic explanation (like a target balloon exercise) have been closed off.

Source: https://www.c-span.org/program/hous...ssing-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena/665348
Short video about the Asch Conformity Experiment.

Source: https://youtu.be/TYIh4MkcfJA?si=ZyPgl--23i4dMqtG
 
Indeed. Just leave it to the media to screw with our heads. They (the media) are in my view the cause of all the stupid non sense we see in the world, or at least inflating it.
The world would be much better of without the media outlets. They only create brain rot.
I understand your frustration, but "the media" include those with honest reporting as well as those who are merely propaganda organs, and are our only connection with what's going on beyond our own front doors. Please don't paint them with an overly broad brush.
 
I understand your frustration, but "the media" include those with honest reporting as well as those who are merely propaganda organs, and are our only connection with what's going on beyond our own front doors. Please don't paint them with an overly broad brush.
You sense my frustration very well Ann ;), I shall be more careful not to generalise, indeed.
 
Just a friendly reminder that this video was anonymously given to Burlison, and has no chain of custody. There a significant chance that it is not a good faith leak, but instead something conventional that was planted specifically for you to debunk, as a way to discredit the hearing and distract from witness testimony about real anomalous UAP.

I watched the entire hearing. Some remarkable anecdotal stories were told. But consistently the ' It was as big as a football field and just 200 feet above me ' ( one such story related ) stories never come with video or photographic evidence. Again and again and again there is this vast chasm between the supposedly remarkable objects the stories relate...and blurry videos, poor photography, parallax effects, and so on.

The 'real UFOs' are thus entirely anecdotal. Rather than constructing some elaborate conspiracy to hide the 'real UFOs' with distracting junk stuff, how about wondering why...in 80 years and despite numerous multiple witness cases...nobody has ever caught one of these ' It was a big as a football field' UFOs on camera. My conclusion is that the junk stuff is really all that exists, and is exaggerated, mis-identified, wrongly sized ( easy to do ) and so on. No need for any conspiracy.
 
I share it.
I do too. This one is particularly egregious and actually harmful. I think Mick's video doubting the anomalous nature of what we're seeing is excellent but could be more explicit in saying that it looks like things we've seen before (as Flarkey mentioned #4). Hopefully there will be greater mainstream coverage of it along with some military experts who could offer their own opinions.
 
Here is a decent article regarding analysis of the video published in The War Zone with some historical context on the use of Reapers in Yemen.

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SOURCE: https://www.twz.com/news-features/r...ngaging-aerial-targets-comes-from-uap-hearing

External Quote:

ChatGPT Summary
Summary
  • First known operational air-to-air use: This incident appears to be the first publicly known instance of a Reaper engaging an aerial target in an operational setting, rather than in testing or training.
  • Method of targeting: The video includes the text "LRD LASE DES," indicating the use of "buddy lasing"—one platform designating the target with a laser and the other launching the laser-guided Hellfire.
  • Context & background:
    • Prior incidents: While this event is unique, using MQ-9s or similar drones in the air-to-air role is not entirely unprecedented. In 2017, a Reaper successfully downed a target drone during a test firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder—though that was not at an operational pace. Additionally, earlier drones (Predators) were modified to fire heat-seeking Stingers in the early 2000s, and other systems have been used similarly.
    • Operational environment: At the time of the October 2024 footage, U.S. forces were heavily engaged in the region, countering Houthi missile and drone attacks. MQ-9s were active assets in this theater and had previously been shot down by Houthi forces.
 

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If this is IR footage, is there a consensus if this is white hot?

Other instances of leaked military IR footage have shown the glare from a vehicle's exhaust obscuring the shape of the craft. This appears to show the object's rounded outline. And then the amorphous shape of the falling debris fairly well defined as well. Does this imply that all of this material was hot vs reflecting the heat of the sun?
 
And here's just post-collision
View attachment 83809

The three 'orbs' that certain people are suggesting are ejecting themselves from the main UFO after the missile collision look to me like they are attached by strings to the main body of the object. Does this add credence to the alternative suggestion that the object was a parachute flare, and the missile damaged the 'chute part causing it to tumble to the ground (ocean) ? This is what I'm thinking I'm seeing ...

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Which raises the question, then, why is this being presented as a UAP/UFO? At what point in the process did this go from shooting down something the Houthis were believed to have launched at them to "wow, another amazing UFO!"?

Not a question we are in a position to answer, here at Metabunk, but mentioned here in case anybody on a congressional staff is wandering by to see what we make of this. Your boss, hypothetical Congressional staffer, ought to want to know why they are being shown normal stuff and told it is something mysterious and unexplainable, and is in a position to insist on an answer to that question. Wasting Congress's time with this and presenting falsely categorized videos to a Congressional hearing seems a good example of waste, fraud and abuse...
Exactly. Why would these crappy videos able to be debunked by folks here, and certainly known by members of the intelligence community to be nonsense, keep being presented?
 
The three 'orbs' that certain people are suggesting are ejecting themselves from the main UFO after the missile collision look to me like they are attached by strings to the main body of the object. Does this add credence to the alternative suggestion that the object was a parachute flare, and the missile damaged the 'chute part causing it to tumble to the ground (ocean) ? This is what I'm thinking I'm seeing ...
I'd assume if the debris were parts of a parachute, they'd be more flippy floppy. They seem too stable to be cloth.
 
The three 'orbs' that certain people are suggesting are ejecting themselves from the main UFO after the missile collision look to me like they are attached by strings to the main body of the object. Does this add credence to the alternative suggestion that the object was a parachute flare, and the missile damaged the 'chute part causing it to tumble to the ground (ocean) ? This is what I'm thinking I'm seeing ...

View attachment 83825View attachment 83824

I saw someone liken them to drogue chutes (small stabilization parachutes). But I don't think you'd need three of them. Plus there are at least three other small dots in there, possibly quite a lot more that are just too small for the camera to see (terrible resolution)
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Which rather suggests a cloud of debris of various sizes.

The large piece moves away from the smaller pieces, which in turn seem to move away from the tiny pieces (by "away" here, I mean towards the lower left on camera)

Here it's higher contrast, so you can see the smaller pieces.

 
Related question: Why are the real clear close up videos with lots of detail, that we are assured exist, NEVER leaked?
Not saying this is true in this particular case, but the reasons given are usually natsec related, e.g. hiding the max resolutions of sensors and whatnot.
 
I saw someone liken them to drogue chutes (small stabilization parachutes). But I don't think you'd need three of them. Plus there are at least three other small dots in there, possibly quite a lot more that are just too small for the camera to see (terrible resolution)

Which rather suggests a cloud of debris of various sizes.

The large piece moves away from the smaller pieces, which in turn seem to move away from the tiny pieces (by "away" here, I mean towards the lower left on camera)

Here it's higher contrast, so you can see the smaller pieces.
Are you able to get an idea of how fast the object is actually moving? It seems to me to be more substantial than a balloon.
 
Which rather suggests a cloud of debris of various sizes.
Is it debris? It looks like the three main parts have the same definite shape/size. (see #42)
Couldn't this be the test of an "aerostat mounted drone station" the likes of which are being tested/used in Ukraine to detect and launch counter drones at incoming drones.
Something like this: https://spectrum.ieee.org/airships-drones-ukraine
Other aerostats have drones mounted under them which can be launched.
 
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