UFO Spotted Flying Over Iraqi City In 2016 Is First Ever Public Footage Taken By US Spy Aircraft

A photograph of a metallic-looking orb flying over a city in Iraq that was caught on video by a U.S. spy plane has emerged.

The image was taken in April 2016 by an intelligence-reconnaissance plane. It was included in a classified briefing video on unidentified flying objects (UFO) that was shown to multiple U.S. government agencies, reported Daily Mail. The briefing video described it as a "short clip of an unidentified flying orb that appears to have a metallic shine on its surface."

It showed the mysterious object flying over Mosul in northern Iraq. It is the first publicly revealed photograph from the U.S. government's ongoing UFO probe showing an unidentified craft over a conflict zone. A UFO flying around where the U.S. military is operating has sparked safety and security concerns at the Department of Defense. Military officials are worried it could endanger pilots and ground troops.

The image itself is not classified, but footage from which the photo was captured was part of a classified briefing produced by the Pentagon's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF). It is a unit that is tasked with investigating UFO incidents. It has now been replaced by another office in the Department of Defense. It was obtained by journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp. They have released the photo on their new UFO podcast "Weaponized."

The briefing described and showed the UFO as moving from south to north. It said that it did not appear to descend. The four-second video titled "Mosul Orb" is included in the briefing, and in the clip, the UFO appeared for one second. It flew alongside the MC-12 spy plane. The mysterious object appeared to have no apparent flight surfaces like wings.

An intelligence source said that it was shot using full motion video by "DGS-1." It means that the plane sensors captured infra-red and other data when it shot the UFO. It is said that officials who assembled the briefing clip believe that the orb was under intelligent control.

One intelligence source said that the clip was sent to the Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. There imagery and electronic signals intelligence experts studied the video for United States Central Command (CENTCOM). Even though it was analyzed and studied by intelligence experts for more than six years, the incident remains unexplained.

The case formed part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Preliminary Assessment on UFOs. It is a report that was published in May 2021. As many as 144 cases were analyzed and the team found an explanation for just one. The ODNI published another report earlier this month. It said that it has analyzed 510 cases up to Aug. 30, 2022.