Journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp have just released a new photo of a UAP allegedly believed to have been shot at by the UK’s Royal Air Force over Syria in December 2021. Corbell and Knapp didn’t elaborate on who sent the photo to them, but said that it was acknowledged within military documetns as being a UAP, even though the media had reported it as being a hostile drone. Read on to see a photo of the object, more details about what happened, and UFO disclosure advocates‘ reactions and theories about the news.
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The Object Was Shot at Over Syria in December 2019
Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp shared the photo and details about the UAP in the latest episode of their Weaponized podcast.
The incident happened on December 14, 2021 in the UK, and it was reported across the media, including by the BBC. Media reported it as a “hostile drone” that was shot at over Syria by the Royal Air Force. Much like the historic NORAD shootdowns in February, this was the first air-to-air firing from the Royal Air Force in 40 years, Corbell shared.
Media later referred to as a “terrorist drone.” But as Knapp pointed out, no terrorist group or nation has claimed responsibility for it.
“We have no idea whose ‘drone’ this was,” Knapp said.
Corbell said that in the course of their work investigating UFO sightings, they were “given an image that is said to be of this thing that was shot down or shot at, and it looks really weird.”
“I’m not making any claims about it, it just looks really weird,” Corbell added.
The photo is a grainy black-and-white image that Knapp said looked like a “mushroom cloud.” But it’s super fuzzy and hard to make out any details.
He didn’t elaborate on who the photo came from or how they know for certain it’s from the drone shootdown, but he did say they’re now referring to it as the “Syrian Dome UAP.”
On X (formerly known as Twitter), Corbell wrote that the image was taken above Syria via thermographic/forward looking infrared (FLIR.)
“We were able to confirm that this image that we have was associated with this event,” Corbell said. “This is what we shot at. They labeled it unidentified aerial phenomenon, UAP. In fact, this was used as an example of UAP in … an internal product. So on one hand, the media is reporting you’ve got this terrorist drone, but the entire intelligence community is saying these are UAP.”
Corbell then said that little is known about these UAPs, including who is behind them.
“We don’t know who operate them,” Corbell said. “They have flight characteristics that are other than what we have. We see other nations firing upon the same objects…indicating it’s likely not those nations.”
He added that the documents they saw, including a Five Eyes Report, also noted that CENTCOM has been tracking UAPs for more than 15 years.
Knapp then clarified that they can’t show the documents in question, but they could show a picture of the UAP. It’s unclear, based on the Five Eyes report, if the UAP was actually downed or destroyed. An RAF press release from the time said it was shot down and destroyed.
“Whatever this device is,” Corbell said as they showed the picture, “there were two of them, right? … This is the one that was fired upon.”
Corbell went on to say that jamming attempts at objects didn’t work.
Press Releases & Media Coverage at the Time Labeled it a Drone
At the time, press releases and media coverage referred to the object as a drone. An RAF press release said the engagement happened at the At Tanf Coalition base in Syria and “the pilots identified a small hostile drone and succeeded in eliminating the threat during an air-to-air engagement with an Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile.”
Corbell told Liberation Times: “The Five Eyes report, which was published months after the incident was reported by the press, explicitly states this is a UAP, not a drone. Also, the report states that the UAP was shot at but does not state it was downed or destroyed, as the MOD claims.”
BBC News reported that the UK’s Ministry of Defence referred to the object as a “small hostile drone” and it was destroyed by pilots using an Asraam missile, which is a short range air-to-air missile.
Corbell also told Liberation Times: “The RAF has clearly stated this was a hostile drone, which it may have been. But if that is the case, why was it labelled a UAP in internal documents? Furthermore, why were the operators of the craft never confirmed.”
Stars and Stripes at the time also reported that the drone was downed at a base that houses U.S. troops.
“This strike is an impressive demonstration of the RAF’s ability to take out hostile targets in the air which pose a threat to our forces,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was quoted as saying.
An official press release from the UK government at the time noted: “As the drone continued on its track, it became clear it posed a threat to Coalition forces… Despite the small size of the drone making it a very challenging target, it was successfully shot down using an Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) and the threat eliminated – a tribute to the skill and professionalism of Royal Air Force pilots.”
A pilot not related to the shootdown was interviewed later in December 2019 by Hush-Kit about the shootdown.
He said: “Finding a small drone in a fighter and shooting it down using a heat-seeking missile is pretty impressive. It shows how the jet can roll quickly from supporting the troops one minute to engaging a tricky air-to-air target moments later. More broadly, the use of explosive drones is becoming more prevalent so from a control of the air point of view, I think more thought needs to go into countering these en-masse from western air forces.”
UFO Disclosure Advocates Have Mixed Reactions to the Image
Now, accounts on Twitter are trying to decipher the blurry image.
The account called Project Unity is skeptic. They wrote: “We know it has been purposefully de-res’d! This is not helping whatsoever, we know this image is pure noise, you need to stop being a servant to disinformation like this, and that is exactly what this is.”
How can you put this out?
We know it has been purposefully de-res'd!This is not helping whatsoever, we know this image is pure noise, you need to stop being a servant to disinformation like this, and that is exactly what this is. @JeremyCorbell https://t.co/pXXwzbk9vo pic.twitter.com/ceYpcYvfuA
— Project Unity (@TheProjectUnity) November 14, 2023
In contrast, That UFO Podcast finds the image compelling and shared an attempt at a 3D mockup that was posted in a Discord conversation.
A listener from the Discord mocked up this which really helped me in making out more of a 3D shape
Credit: Joeyisnotmyname https://t.co/EaqV52OgOH pic.twitter.com/mBzAtfoUc9
— That UFO Podcast (@ufouapam) November 14, 2023
And Olof on Twitter made rough sketches of what they think the object might look like.
https://twitter.com/olof_rockner/status/1724471098345976181
In a Reddit discussion on r/UFOs, quite a few people expressed disappointment in the blurry image.
One person wrote: “Disappointed doesn’t begin to capture it. I’m incensed that the government has crystal clear imagery of these craft and we don’t get to see it let alone even hear about it. ”
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