They Fired a Hellfire Missile at It — And It Kept Flying

On September 9, 2025, Congressman Eric Burlison did something unprecedented at a House Oversight Committee hearing on UAP transparency. He played a 50-second video — never before shown to the public — of a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone firing an AGM-114 Hellfire missile at an unidentified aerial object off the coast of Yemen.

The missile struck the object. Debris flew. The object kept going.

Let that sink in.

What the Video Shows

The footage, dated October 30, 2024, shows two MQ-9 Reapers working in tandem. One drone laser-designated the target — a fast-moving object described as an "orb" — while the second fired a laser-guided Hellfire. The video feed includes "LRD LASE DES" text, confirming this was a coordinated buddy-lasing engagement.

The Hellfire appears to strike the object, causing visible debris. But instead of a detonation or destruction, the missile deflects away without detonating. The object — which had been tracking on a steady flight path — continues on its course.

"It looks like the debris was taken with it. I'm not going to speculate what it is." — Rep. Eric Burlison

Why This Matters

This is not about whether UAPs exist. That question has been answered — by the Pentagon, by Congress, by multiple intelligence community whistleblowers. The conversation has moved on.

This footage represents a fundamental shift: from observation to engagement. The U.S. military received a greenlight to fire on an unidentified aerial object. Think about what that means. Someone in the chain of command authorised weapons release against something they couldn't identify.

And it didn't work.

The Rules of Engagement Question

Who authorised this engagement? Under what rules? The U.S. military operates under strict Rules of Engagement (ROE) — the directives that govern when and how force can be used — especially in active conflict zones like Yemen where Houthi forces were attacking Red Sea shipping. An MQ-9 engaging an aerial target with a Hellfire is extraordinary — Reapers are ground-attack platforms. They're not designed for air-to-air combat.

The fact that this engagement happened suggests the object was deemed a threat. But a threat to what? The Reapers themselves? Nearby naval assets? Or was this an opportunistic "let's see what happens" engagement approved at a higher level?

The Resilience Question

A Hellfire missile struck the object and it kept flying. There are mundane explanations — the missile may not have achieved a direct hit, or the object could have been a balloon or simple drone that survived a grazing impact. The War Zone notes the object appears "more cylindrical than orb-shaped" and moves in ways consistent with various explanations.

But the military classified this footage. A whistleblower had to leak it. And a Congressman had to force it into the public record at a hearing specifically about UAP transparency. If this were simply a failed shot at a balloon, why the secrecy?

The MQ-9 as UAP Hunter

Using Reapers against aerial targets isn't entirely new. In 2017, an MQ-9 successfully downed a target drone using an AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile. And back in 2002, a Predator drone fired a Stinger at an Iraqi MiG-25 that was trying to shoot it down (the Predator lost that fight).

But those were identified targets. This is different. This is a military drone engaging something unidentified, with a ground-attack missile repurposed as an air-to-air weapon, and the target surviving the hit.

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle — the MQ-9's cousin — has also demonstrated anti-drone capability using AGM-114L Longbow variants. The military is clearly developing drone-versus-unknown protocols. The question is: how often are these engagements happening that we don't know about?

The Bigger Picture

Anna Paulina Luna, speaking on the podcast Keeping It Real with Jillian Michaels in March 2026, confirmed the Trump administration is "very serious" about releasing UAP files. Luna herself encountered a UAP while serving as an airfield manager at Portland Air National Guard — a pilot later told her the incident was not something they were permitted to discuss.

The pattern is consistent:

• Military encounters continue — and are being documented
• Engagement protocols exist — the greenlight was given to fire
• Whistleblowers are the pipeline — this footage came through a leak, not official release
• Congress is the pressure point — hearings force material into the public record
• The Pentagon says nothing — "We do not have anything to provide on this"

The Australian Angle

If MQ-9 Reapers are engaging unidentified objects in Middle Eastern airspace, what's happening in other operational theatres? Australia operates the MQ-9B Sky Guardian variant — our own Reapers, flying our own skies. Are Australian Defence Force personnel encountering similar objects? Under what ROE?

Grant Lavac's FOIA work has already uncovered Five Eyes intelligence sharing on UAP at the TS//SI/TK classification level. If the U.S. is shooting at these things, our allies know about it. The question is whether anyone in Canberra is asking the right questions.

What Comes Next

We've moved past "are they real?" and past "are they ours?" We're now in "what happens when we engage them?" territory. And the early answer appears to be: they survive.

That's either deeply concerning or deeply fascinating, depending on your perspective. Either way, it's a conversation that can't be put back in the box.

After Alien Disclosure, March 29, 2026

Sources: The War Zone, DefenseScoop, ABC News, Newsweek