Yemen MQ-9 Reaper Orb Encounter under-corroborated
Infrared MQ-9 Reaper footage, reportedly recorded 30 October 2024 off
Yemen, shows a spherical "orb" tracked by one drone and then struck by a
missile fired from a second drone, after which it deforms and sheds
debris. It surfaced via a whistleblower and was shown publicly by Rep.
Eric Burlison at a 10 September 2025 House hearing. Provenance is weak
(filmed off a screen, telemetry cropped, no released original), and
skeptics led by Mick West argue it is most consistent with a balloon-
borne object plus parallax — so the anomalous-orb reading is unconfirmed.
The Yemen orb sits at the intersection of two live threads: AARO's own
repeated acknowledgment that "metallic orbs" are a real, common, often-
unresolved UAP morphology in the Middle East, and a striking new claim —
a U.S. drone actually ENGAGING a UAP with a missile. If genuine, kinetic
engagement of an unidentified object would be a significant escalation.
But it is exactly the kind of low-provenance, off-a-screen leak that
demands caution, with a strong prosaic candidate (a Houthi balloon /
payload in the Oct 2024 Red Sea combat context) and serious chain-of-
custody problems. The case is the corpus's study in not conflating an
official morphology statement with an unauthenticated viral clip.
Timeline
2022-07-12
THE RELATED, OFFICIAL CASE (for contrast): an MQ-9 films a silver
metallic orb near Deir ez-Zor, Syria. AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick
shows it to a Senate subcommittee on 19 April 2023, calling it
"consistent with other 'metallic orb' observations in the region."
Bellingcat later (Oct 2023) concludes it is most likely a balloon.
This is NOT the Yemen clip — it is the source of AARO's orb framing.
primary source: VICE; Bellingcat; Metabunk
2024-10-30
The claimed filming date of the Yemen orb / Hellfire-strike video. (One
Metabunk summary lists 20 October — the date is not perfectly
consistent across reporting.) On-screen telemetry visible in the clip
suggests a target around ~12,200 ft and a drone range of ~4 nm.
primary source: Newsweek; Metabunk (reading the visible data)
2024-11-14
AARO director Jon Kosloski's FY24 annual-report roundtable discusses
orb/cylinder/triangle morphologies and roughly 21 unresolved "true
anomalies", noting no commonality across cases. He does not authenticate
the Yemen clip.
witnesses: Dr. Jon Kosloski (AARO director)
primary source: The Black Vault (transcript); DefenseScoop
2025-09-10
Rep. Eric Burlison shows the Yemen video at the House hearing "Restoring
Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection,"
describing the strike and the debris and saying it came from a
whistleblower and was undergoing independent review.
witnesses: Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO)
primary source: Newsweek
2025-2026
No public AARO resolution specific to the Yemen clip surfaces through
June 2026. Mick West's leading read remains balloon-plus-parallax;
George Knapp says he and Corbell were already aware of the clip and that
it comes from a "server" of similar videos (an unverified claim).
primary source: Metabunk; Newsweek
Named personnel
- Rep. Eric Burlison — U.S. Representative (R-MO) who presented the Yemen video at the 10 Sept 2025 House hearing rank at time: · later: Described the strike and debris; said the footage came from a whistleblower and was under independent review role: the official venue in which the clip was surfaced
- Dr. Jon Kosloski — Current AARO director; discusses orbs among UAP morphologies and ~21 unresolved 'true anomalies' rank at time: · later: Has NOT, in available reporting, authenticated the Yemen clip role: the source of the official orb-morphology context (not an endorsement)
- Sean Kirkpatrick — Former AARO director; source of the canonical 'metallic orb is a common morphology' framing via the 2022 Syria clip rank at time: role: establishes that unresolved metallic orbs are an official category — distinct from this clip
- Mick West — Skeptical analyst (Metabunk); argues the apparent motion is largely parallax and the object is plausibly balloon-borne; doubts the 'Hellfire' label rank at time: role: the leading prosaic-explanation analyst
- Jeremy Corbell & George Knapp — Journalists who said they were already aware of the clip and that it comes from a 'server' of similar leaked videos rank at time: role: the unverified provenance claim
Sensor record
- MQ-9 Reaper EO/IR targeting turret (thermal) on two MQ-9 Reaper drones (one tracking, one reportedly firing) an infrared track of a roughly spherical orb; on-screen data suggested ~12,200 ft target altitude and ~4 nm range — but the clip was reportedly filmed off a display screen with data 'curiously cropped out' documentation: the leaked screen-recording shown by Burlison; no released original or high-resolution source
- Air-to-ground missile (claimed Hellfire variant) on the second MQ-9 the orb is reportedly struck, deforms, tumbles, and sheds smaller fragments that appear to travel with it — consistent with a deflating balloon or a payload dispersing documentation: Burlison's account (Newsweek); West notes 'Hellfire' may be generic and raises an AGM-114R-9X kinetic variant
Object — reported
shape
roughly spherical orb on infrared — the most-reported UAP morphology, per AARO
size
for the related 2022 class Kirkpatrick cited ~1-4 m at 10,000-30,000 ft; the Yemen object's size is not independently established
surface features
featureless sphere in IR; no resolved structure
observed behaviors
- tracked by one MQ-9 and then struck by a missile from a second — the kinetic-engagement claim that distinguishes this clip
- after the strike, deforming, tumbling, and shedding debris that travels with it — which a deflating balloon or a dispersing payload would also do
- apparent motion that Mick West attributes largely to PARALLAX from the moving drone, the same effect that resolved the Navy GoFast video
Theories that invoke this case (3)
The proponent reading: an unidentified metallic orb engaged by a U.S.
drone — taken as evidence of a real anomalous object and a covered-up
engagement, if the clip is authentic. The corpus records that the clip
is unauthenticated and the prosaic candidate is strong.
The prosaic reading the corpus weights: a balloon-borne object whose
apparent motion is parallax, in the active Oct 2024 Red Sea combat
environment — an aerial target, not an anomaly.
The mundane-but-secret reading: a Houthi balloon carrying a drone or
glide-bomb payload that disperses after impact — an adversary aerial
system, consistent with the combat context.
Theories that do NOT invoke this case — and why
no entity observed — a spherical sensor target
no associated phenomenology beyond the leaked clip
the leading reading is a known aerial object (balloon/payload); no anomalous material or physics is established
Conventional explanations advanced — and their status
A balloon-borne object, with apparent motion from parallax
proponents: Mick West (Metabunk) · Bellingcat (for the related 2022 orb)
The strong prosaic candidate. Bellingcat concluded the officially-released 2022 sibling orb was most likely a balloon; for the Yemen clip, West argues parallax from the moving drone is misread as object motion, and a Houthi balloon/payload fits the Oct 2024 combat context. The leading reading on the available (low-quality) data.
An official, unresolved metallic-orb morphology
proponents: AARO (Kirkpatrick 2022; Kosloski 2024) — about the CLASS, not this clip
AARO acknowledges metallic orbs are a real, common, often-unresolved morphology — but that statement derives from the 2022 Syria clip and the broader caseload, and is NOT an authentication of the Yemen video. Conflating the two is the case's central error.
A genuine anomalous craft engaged by a U.S. drone
proponents: Rep. Burlison's framing; Corbell / Knapp
Unconfirmed and low-provenance: filmed off a screen, telemetry cropped, no released original, murky whistleblower chain of custody. The kinetic-engagement claim is striking but unverified.
Where further investigation has leverage
- Release of the original file with intact telemetry / metadata (location, altitude, sensor, weapon), not a screen recording.
- Official confirmation of whether a U.S. MQ-9 actually fired on an unidentified object off Yemen on that date, and the after-action assessment.
- An AARO case determination specific to this clip (distinct from the 2022 Syria orb).
- Independent geolocation (as Bellingcat did for the 2022 orb) to test the balloon / Houthi-payload hypothesis, and clarification of the missile type and whether the debris is consistent with a deflating balloon.
Corpus status
under-corroborated
A low-provenance leaked clip surfaced in an official hearing, carrying a
striking kinetic-engagement claim. It must be kept distinct from the
officially-released 2022 Syria metallic-orb video that AARO showed the
Senate (which Bellingcat argues is a balloon); AARO's general "orbs are a
real, unresolved morphology" line is about the class, not this clip. The
Yemen footage was reportedly filmed off a screen with telemetry cropped,
has no released original, and faces a strong prosaic candidate — a balloon
or Houthi payload with apparent motion from parallax, in an active combat
zone. Under-corroborated, and held there until an original file or an AARO
determination exists.
status history (1)
2026-06-09 · unannotated → under-corroborated
— initial annotation sweep (Epic J.F4)