The Night a Missile Met the Uncatchable
October 30, 2024. The Red Sea stretched black and restless under a moonless sky, broken only by the distant lights of cargo ships threading the dangerous strait. Somewhere off Yemen's coast, in airspace thick with tension from Houthi missile launches and coalition patrols, an MQ-9 Reaper drone flew silent vigil.
The operator, thousands of miles away in a darkened control room, watched the FLIR feed. A small, perfectly spherical object appeared. Glowing white-hot in thermal, no wings, no rotors, no exhaust plume. It moved with unnatural steadiness, cutting through restricted airspace like it belonged there.
Command authorized engagement. A second Reaper locked on and fired. An AGM-114 Hellfire missile streaked across the screen ending in a direct hit. The operator expected an explosion, debris, confirmation, but...
The Hearing: A Bombshell Drops in Congress
The hearing "Restoring Public Trust Through UAP Transparency and Whistleblower Protection" featured veterans, journalists, and experts. The 50-second clip remained classified until September 9, 2025, when Rep. Eric Burlison played it in a packed House Oversight Committee hearing for the first time in public. Lawmakers leaned forward. Witnesses gasped. The room went silent as the orb simply kept going.
Wait, what? The Hellfire is a 1000mph tube of violence and hate. A weapon that easily shreds armored vehicles like the most modern Tanks... had, unbelievably, bounced off. Yet there it was, on high definition video, clear as day for all to see.
Instead of exploding as expected the orb seemed to deform like soft metal under pressure (it really does look very weird to say the least). It then tumbled very briefly while shedding three or four fragments that fell away like sparks. Then almost instantly the object stabilized itself and continued flying. With zero lost of speed. Apparently completely unharmed.
"This video is of an MQ-9 Drone tracking an orb off the coast of Yemen. You'll see that another MQ-9 launched a Hellfire missile... missile appears to be ineffective against the target."
– Rep. Eric Burlison
Panel reactions:
"That's a hellfire missile smacking into that UFO, and bouncing right off. And it kept going."
– George Knapp
The Video (the clichéd ominous sound was added for some dumb reason)
The Video: Frame by Frame Breakdown
The clip shows:
- Orb tracked in thermal. Bright, steady path
- Missile enters from left, impacts center
- No explosion. Orb tumbles, sheds 3-5 fragments
- Hellfire appears to swerve around seomthing
- Debris falls. Main object stabilizes, continues
- No sonic boom or heat change
Orbs have been seen around quite a LOT of US Navy ships over the years. Here are some recent ones:
The 2023 USS Jackson Orb Encounter: A Silent Visitor at Sea
2023. The USS Jackson, an Independence-class littoral combat ship, cut through calm Pacific waters during routine operations. The night was clear, stars sharp overhead. Then crew members on deck spotted it: a perfectly spherical, metallic orb hovering silently nearby. No wings, no rotors, no visible propulsion. Just a smooth, reflective surface catching moonlight.
The orb paced the ship for several minutes, maintaining precise distance as if observing. Sailors grabbed phones. Grainy videos captured the object holding formation before accelerating away at speeds impossible for conventional drones, vanishing without sound or wake.
Multiple witnesses described identical details: size estimated 3-6 feet, no heat signature, intelligent movement. The encounter was logged and reported through chain of command.
In 2025 congressional hearings on UAP transparency, veterans referenced the Jackson case alongside other naval encounters. Part of a pattern of spherical objects interacting with U.S. vessels.
No official explanation released. Crew accounts consistent: "Not ours. Not any known adversary tech."
The Jackson orb shared hallmarks with the Yemen incident. Silent, spherical, impervious behavior. Fueling speculation of a global phenomenon.
The 2019 USS Russell Orb Encounter: Triangular Lights in the Pacific
July 2019 (declassified details emerging stronger in 2024-2025 hearings). The USS Russell, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, sailed off Southern California during training exercises. Night fell calm over the Pacific. Then radar lit up with multiple unknown contacts.
Crew rushed to deck. Above them hovered a pyramid-shaped formation of three glowing orbs. Red, white, and green lights at the corners. The triangle held position, silent, then moved with impossible speed and agility. Right angles, instant acceleration, no sonic boom.
Sailors filmed with phones. The SNOOPIE team captured clearer footage from the bridge. The orbs descended toward the ship, buzzing close before shooting upward and vanishing.
Multiple ships reported similar encounters that night. Swarm of 14+ objects. One orb reportedly entered the water without splash, then re-emerged.
In 2024-2025 hearings, veterans testified:
"They were triangular, glowing, moving in ways no known aircraft can. No rotors, no wings, no heat signature."
– USS Russell crew member
The Russell encounter became part of the "Gimbal/GoFast/FLIR1" leaks. Confirmed authentic by Pentagon. Orbs showed intelligent control, evading pursuit.
Parallels to Yemen orb: silent, metallic, impervious behavior. The Pacific swarm still remains unexplained.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Oct 30 2024 | Incident |
| Sep 9 2025 | Revealed in hearing |
| Present | Ongoing review |
Final Verdict
The footage stunned everyone at the hearing that day. People ask was it an enemy drone, or a balloon, or maybe something beyond? I'm not sure what exactly the glowing Orb is, but I do see a video of a Hellfire missile hitting a high speed glowing Orb off the coast of Yemen... and the Orb keeps on flying like nothing has happened to it. The Orb didn't explode, and neither did the Hellfire missile. It looks very weird.
Now I'm clearly not a military weapons expert but I'm pretty sure Hellfire missiles are designed to blow up Tanks etc, and they do that job very, very well. I'm also pretty sure Hellfires don't normally bounce off their targets, let alone swerve around their targets, right? Also the Hellfire is doing almost 1,000mph when it comes into frame and the Orb seems to going almost as quickly.
Let's say it is indeed just a "drone" or a balloon, then the Houthis have easily beat the current drone speed record set in December 2025 by Australian drone enthusiast Benjamin Biggs whose drone went 626 km/h (389.24 mph). I expect an official from the Guinness Book of World Records to be contacting them shortly to verify.