A leaked video shows US Navy officers watch a UFO splashing into the Pacific Ocean in what a former lieutenant has described as a potential security threat.
The close encounter happened off the coast of San Diego in July 2019 when the USS Omaha came face to face with a spherical object as it slowly descended from the sky.
It was filmed by crew members on the combat ship and the footage has now been shared by investigative filmmaker Jeremy Corbell with media outlet Mystery Wire.
The clip comes as the US government is next month expected to release a report on UFO sightings after unclassified videos of them were leaked to the New York Times.
(Image: Fox 8 News)
It was released on the same day a US fighter pilot revealed that his crew had witnessed unidentified objects enter protected airspace “hundreds” of times between 2015 and 2017.
Speaking on 60 Minutes, former Navy Lieutenant Ryan Graves called the objects a threat to national security but said personnel at the Virginia post eventually grew accustomed to them.
The objects have now been seen at multiple posts across the US, according to eyewitness accounts from veterans.
Graves’ F/A-18 fighter squadron spotted the UFOs flying near Virginia Beach almost every day’, he said.
“I am worried, frankly. You know, if these were tactical jets from another country that were hanging out up there, it would be a massive issue,” Graves told 60 Minutes.
(Image: Fox 8 News)
“But because it looks slightly different, we’re not willing to actually look at the problem in the face. We’re happy to just ignore the fact that these are out there, watching us every day.”
Graves is the latest in a series of officials from both government and the military to raise concerns about the UFOs and confirm that their origins remain unknown.
Senator Marco Rubio called for a report on the objects by the Pentagon’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) after viewing classified briefings about them while heading the Senate Intelligence Committee.
(Image: US Navy)
(Image: Fox 8 News)
In the latest video, unidentified crew members can be heard exclaiming: “Wow, it splashed,” as the ball disappears underwater.
Still images from that video were first released in April. The Pentagon has now confirmed that the footage showing UFOs hovering over navy warships off the coast of California in 2019 “were taken” by crew members.
In a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson told Mystery Wire: “I can confirm that the referenced photos and videos were taken by Navy personnel. The UAPTF has included these incidents in their ongoing examinations.”