Exclusive Photo Captures UFO Intercepted by UK’s Royal Air Force As Five Eyes Intelligence Report Highlights Growing Difficulty in Monitoring Surge of Unidentified Craft Across the Middle East
The alleged drone engaged over Syria by the RAF in December 2021 and later classified as UAP by a Five Eyes Intelligence Report. Photographer unknown. Image courtesy of WEAPONIZED.
Written by Christopher Sharp - 14 November 2023
In 2021, the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) intercepted an object initially flagged as a potential terrorist drone above Syria.
However, a Five Eyes intelligence report generated months following the event classified the object as a UFO or 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena' (UAP).
This new revelation was reported by investigative journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp on their podcast WEAPONIZED.
Corbell and Knapp, who were exposed to the document, shared both an image and pertinent details of the incident. The image is black and white taken from the air showing a small object - Knapp commented that it didn’t look like any drone he had seen and almost resembled a “mushroom cloud”.
The alleged drone, which was classified as UAP within a Five Eyes Intelligence report
In December 2021, the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) classified the object, referred to by Corbell as a 'dome-shaped UAP' as a 'small hostile drone.'
According to Corbell, the Five Eyes report was published months after the incident occurred and indicates that on 14 December 2021, an RAF Typhoon jet shot at one UAP using an ASRAAM missile. At the time, the incident was reported as the first enemy aircraft shot down by the RAF since the Falklands War in Argentina more than 40 years ago.
Although an RAF press release in December 2021 stated that the craft was brought down and destroyed, Corbell noted that the Five Eyes report does not explicitly state that the craft, identified as a UAP, was downed or destroyed.
Reporting on the story in December 2021, the BBC noted that the MOD ‘did not say which hostile group was operating the drone’, despite the RAF later characterising it as a terrorist drone.
Speaking on that apparent discrepancy, 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.’
According to Corbell, the Five Eyes intelligence report, dedicated to the issue of UAPs, reveals that the United States Air Force (USAF), UK RAF, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and the militaries of Russia and Syria are encountering UAPs with an increased frequency over the skies of Syria and Iraq.
"The engagement took place on 14 December when the drone activity was detected above the Al Tanf Coalition base in Syria," said the MOD. "RAF Typhoons conducting routine patrols in the area were tasked to investigate."
The same base had previously been attacked by drones in October 2021, which according to two unnamed U.S. officials originated from Iranian-backed militants. Also, in August 2022 it was reported that drones had attacked the U.S. Al Tanf base in Syria in addition to attacking a Syrian military base, leaving one killed and two injured.
Following recent hostilities between Hamas and Israel, U.S. forces in the region have been attacked with drones or rockets by Iranian-backed groups at least 38 times in less than a month, according to the Pentagon. Such attacks have resulted in casualties.
Why there was a discrepancy between the story released by the RAF and the Five Eyes report is unclear, as Corbell notes:
‘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?’
The MOD’s stance on UAPs otherwise referred to as UFOs is as follows:
‘The MOD has no opinion on the existence of extra-terrestrial life and no longer investigates reports of sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena or Unidentified Flying Objects. This is because, in over 50 years no such reporting to the Department indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK, and it was deemed more valuable to prioritise MOD staff resources towards other Defence-related activities.’
It is important to note the U.S. DoD refers to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena as objects that are not immediately identifiable - meaning many will inevitably most likely be attributable to objects such as drones or balloons.
Talking about the UK’s stance, Corbell told Liberation Times:
‘The MOD is a puzzling contradiction on this matter; not only does the department not investigate UAP cases, but it has also stated that no reports of UAP indicate the existence of any military threat to the UK. If the documents I have been exposed to are accurate, then the UK’s current position regarding UAP is no longer sustainable.’
Corbell told Liberation Times that the Five Eyes report was generated due to concerns arising from an increased frequency and a lack of mandate to address UAP intrusions where troops are stationed.
Corbell noted that United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has been dealing with this issue for 15 years and that an alarming uptick in sightings since 2021 is causing frustration among U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) insiders due to a lack of authority to deal with intrusions within the proximity of coalition forces.
Corbell told Liberation Times that sources familiar with the report said that U.S. forces had tracked UAPs travelling over coalition force bases around the region.
Corbell added that UAPs have been reported through ground radars, cameras, and military aircraft using a variety of methods, including visual contact, radar, infrared, and electro-optical sensors.
It is not understood why the intelligence report was unable to attribute the object engaged by the RAF to Daesh or other regional actors, such as Hezbollah.
Corbell commented:
‘Whether they are prosaic or not, this presents a huge risk to Coalition Forces. It has reached a point where internal intelligence reports are now being written to warn our allies about UAPs. I know for a fact that due to the abundance of sightings, some Base Defense Operation Centers are no longer reporting UAPs, which makes the tracking or characterization of events hugely challenging.’
Corbell stated on WEAPONIZED that the Russians and Syrians have been firing at the same unknown objects, including some, according to the report, that possess superior capabilities and unique morphologies, when contrasted to anything known to forces present in the region.
Global coalition forces, including those from the U.S., UK and Canada have been fighting terrorist Daesh forces in the region since 2014, launching air strikes and other special military operations. Russian forces based in Syria have also been waging war against Daesh to secure President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Corbell said that the Five Eyes report indicates that the USAF militarily engages such craft if they are within a radius of ground troops and appear to carry a payload.
He told Liberation Times:
‘Unless observed with a possible payload, UAPs largely go ignored, as they are not part of the mission - this means that we lose the opportunity to study the phenomena and answer key questions, including 1) Who are the operators 2) Where do they originate from 3) How do they work? And 4) What is their intent?
‘I can confirm that there is frustration within the ranks of the U.S. military that UAPs with unique flight characteristics are being ignored. Worryingly, this critical information is not being reported up the chain of command properly - causing vulnerability to our troops and those of other nations.’
Corbell said that the report indicates that there has yet to be a known concerted effort to search for or collect potentially downed UAPs which are fired upon. Corbell commented:
‘It is baffling that UAPs are not recovered. Firstly, we are talking about a region, which is a hostile environment that poses safety risks to our troops.’
Would we not want to discover their origin and intent?
‘The question we’re asking is why? Why are we not figuring out where these things are from? That is of course unless black secretive compartmentalized programs, as alleged by whistleblowers, are undertaking such operations unbeknownst to senior military officials in charge of those operational areas.’
Earlier this year in a bombshell letter, Canadian politician Larry Maguire urged Canada's Minister of National Defence to request a briefing which could verify that Canada and the Five Eyes intelligence alliance are involved in a secretive program concerning the recovery and exploitation of materials originating from UAP.
News of the RAF incident first came to mainstream public attention on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. In one of Corbell’s appearances on the show, he described the craft as resembling a “jellyfish”.
Speaking about what he had seen in the Five Eyes report, Corbell told Joe Rogan:
“I have images of one we fired on….it looks like a fucking jellyfish, the size of a big coffee table, 10-12ft and domed.”
According to Corbell, the report states that attempts to jam UAPs over Syria and Iraq have been assessed as unsuccessful.
Corbell added that the report highlights how U.S. intelligence appears to have ruled out any possibility the unknown objects were Russian or Syrian as both sides have been observed shooting at them.
To those who may attempt to attribute the ‘dome’ UAP engaged by the RAF as a potential balloon-like system employed by terrorists in the region, Corbell told Liberation Times that the documentation specifically stated that no reporting indicates that nefarious actors, such as terrorist organisations, are employing systems that could be attributed to that morphology of these types of Unmanned Aerial Systems:
‘UAPs observed in the region were NOT assets being deployed and controlled by nefarious rogue actors. No actors claimed ownership, and no systems with this morphology have been identified as being employed as weapons or carrying munitions by such groups.’
Concerningly, Corbell indicated that a Russian military aircraft was reportedly lost when attempting to shoot down one of the UAPs tracked over the region.
Corbell told Liberation Times that there is no discernable pattern of origin, showing where UAPs in the region come from.
The revelations come at a time when the U.S. Select Committee on Intelligence has stated that occurrences of UAPs have risen exponentially, giving credence to the Five Eyes report.
Liberation Times reached out to the MOD, and a spokesperson commented:
‘We are not planning to issue further comment in general on this one, I’m afraid – our position, as set out in the press release you link to, still stands from our perspective.’
However, it should be noted that UK defence sources have indicated that the object’s identification as a terrorist drone was the MOD’s assessment, although the object was not positively identified.