Kate Laurensen is a veteran reporter. She started out covering entertainment news for the local city paper before moving up to the City desk. She studied journalism at San Francisco City College for the Arts.
September 11 , 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faced sharp bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill Wednesday after a U.S. military strike involving a Hellfire missile failed to neutralize an unidentified flying object (UFO) off the coast of Yemen.
Appearing before the House Armed Services Committee, Hegseth defended the Department of Defense’s (DoD) handling of what officials are now calling “a highly anomalous aerial vehicle.” The object was first detected on September 2 by U.S. Navy assets operating in international waters near Yemen and was tracked for several hours before an MQ-9 Reaper drone launched a single AGM-114 Hellfire missile at the craft.
The missile made impact, officials confirmed, but had "no discernible effect" on the object’s structure or behavior. The object reportedly maintained altitude, speed, and trajectory, then exited radar coverage without any further engagement.
“What are we paying you for?!?” demanded Rep. Harold Watkins (R-KS), visibly frustrated during questioning. “We spend hundreds of billions on defense annually, and you're telling us a drone-fired missile — one of our most reliable strike weapons — didn’t even scratch this thing?”
Secretary Hegseth, who took office earlier this year, responded by emphasizing the unprecedented nature of the encounter.
“We are dealing with technologies — or at the very least, flight characteristics — that we do not fully understand,” Hegseth told the committee. “This object did not exhibit any conventional heat signature, nor did it respond to electronic warfare measures. Our systems worked as designed, but the target did not behave as expected.”
According to a preliminary Pentagon summary distributed to committee members, the object exhibited high maneuverability and remained airborne at altitudes and speeds exceeding known drone or aircraft capabilities. U.S. forces determined the object did not demonstrate hostile intent before or after the strike, though its presence near a known maritime security corridor raised immediate concerns.
Rep. Linda Navarro (D-NY) pressed Hegseth on why the administration had not informed Congress sooner.
“This wasn’t some drone flying over Idaho. This was an armed engagement in a strategically sensitive region — one where we have troops, allies, and ongoing counterterrorism operations,” Navarro said. “We need to know what the rules of engagement are for unidentified threats.”
In response, Hegseth pledged a full classified briefing within 72 hours and said a joint interagency task force, including representatives from the DoD, NASA, and the intelligence community, was conducting a full analysis.
Pressed by committee members, Pentagon officials confirmed that no country — including adversaries such as China, Russia, or Iran — had claimed responsibility for or shown evidence of deploying such a craft.
“We have ruled out all known state actors,” said Lt. Gen. Angela Brody, Director of Aerospace Threat Analysis, who appeared alongside Hegseth. “The craft exhibited flight dynamics that are inconsistent with current aviation technology, both ours and theirs.”
Despite mounting questions from the public and lawmakers, Hegseth cautioned against drawing premature conclusions.
“We are not suggesting this is extraterrestrial. We are simply stating that it is unidentified and demonstrated advanced capabilities,” he said. “It is our responsibility to proceed with discipline, not speculation.”
As of press time, the Pentagon had not announced any additional encounters or planned strikes, though officials confirmed that surveillance in the region has been increased “significantly.”
A declassified version of the preliminary report is expected to be released to the public by the end of the month.
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