(NewsNation) — A newly surfaced video of an alleged unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) resembling a “jellyfish” has skywatchers, pilots and experts wondering what it is.
The buzz has been so big the Pentagon responded, issuing a statement saying “no comment” and that it wouldn’t verify the video’s authenticity.
The Pentagon’s response, or lack thereof, has only fueled further speculation.
The video in question was released by investigative journalist Jeremy Corbell, a prominent figure in the UFO community known for his work and investigations into UAPs.
Corbell says military pilots shot the footage over a U.S. joint operations base in Iraq around 2018.
According to Corbell, the object was officially designated a UAP by the Pentagon, and the footage was taken with thermographic/forward-looking infrared radar.
NewsNation has not independently verified this footage.
In a statement, Department of Defense (DOD) spokesperson Sue Gough stated, “We do not comment on the authenticity of alleged DOD material that may have been leaked.”
Despite this, she emphasized the DOD’s commitment to openness and accountability while balancing the necessity to protect sensitive information, leaving some to wonder about the apparent contradiction.
Corbell said the DOD has not debunked the video because it is likely on the verge of confirming its authenticity.
“The reason why they’re not at this point able to deny it is because absolutely, they’re going to have to confirm it,” he said.
Corbell emphasized his and journalist George Knapp’s three-and-a-half-year effort to develop sources and verify the leaked material.
“We have done our due diligence, and our DOD will be put in the corner,” he said. “They have to be honest with the American public on this video.”
The video has sparked conflicting narratives.
Michael Cincoski, a marine who spoke with NewsNation, was an intelligence surveillance recognizance tactical controller at the base in Iraq in 2018. He said he was shown the full video and that soldiers weren’t sure what to make of it.
Cincoski says the video was taken from an aerostat, an intelligence surveillance balloon that looks like a blimp and was over the base. It has cameras on it to keep a lookout for threats.
However, Corbell countered this claim, stating that the video was confiscated immediately after being filmed.
“There was a dramatic set of events that occurred,” he said. “It was confiscated immediately from the aerostat that was filming above the base. So what you are seeing is the first-ever designated UAP by our government and multiple governments UAP or UFO. It’s an incursion of a military base in a combat zone.”
Corbell said additional footage of the “jellyfish” UAP exists and that there are more videos related to the incident.
“There are more videos, you’re not seeing it,” he said. “I’m going to be able to tell inside of the right facility exactly where our Senate Intelligence Committee can find the rest of the videos.”
Corbell said the extended video is approximately 30 minutes long and allegedly shows the UFO’s “transmedium” capability, its abrupt descent into the water for 17 minutes, and its rapid departure.
NewsNation special correspondent Ross Coulthart called the Pentagon’s response to the video “very revealing.”
“I must say it’s very revealing for what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t reveal a categorical denial,” he said. “It’s the last resort of governments and intelligence services when they don’t want to answer a question. Essentially, it’s a neither confirm nor deny.”