Video shows US Navy pilots tracking unexplained, mysterious object flying through the sky

'Wow, what is that, man?'

A stunning new video shows US navy pilots tracking an unexplained flying object across the sea.

The footage, which has been released by the US Department of Defense, is just one of a growing number of mysterious videos that have prompted calls for the American government to do more to explore what is happening.

The video shows pilots attempting to track the speeding object as it flies across the water. The pilots struggle to do so because it is moving so quickly.

"Wow, what is that, man?" asks one pilot, who is apparently stunned by the flight of the object.

The footage has been made available by the To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science, a private research group conducting study into unexplained phenomena like this. That organisation is run by Hal Puthoff, who previously worked as a NASA and US Department of Defense adviser and James Semivan, who was a CIA service member.

To The Stars noted a number of things about the flying object that don't seem to fit with expectations. It doesn't appear to have the wings or tail that would normally be visible on a plane, for instance, and there is no exhaust plume coming out of the back.

It's not clear where or when the video was taken. That information was removed as part of the process of having the tape released to the public, claims To The Stars.

Christopher Mellon, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence in the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations and now advises To The Stars, said that the video and those like it show that the US government needs to investigate more into the bizarre UFOs.

He pointed to a range of different pieces of footage – including two strange videos released by the US government at the end of this year. When that video was released, the Pentagon admitted that it had done detailed research into alien spacecraft and UFOs, but that none was ongoing now.

"Is it possible that America has been technologically leap-frogged by Russia or China? Or, as many people wondered after the videos were first published by the New York Times in December, might they be evidence of some alien civilization?" he asked in a piece written for the Washington Post.

"Unfortunately, we have no idea, because we aren’t even seeking answers."

He goes on to detail a range of other strange phenomena that have been captured on video and described pilots. In one strange incident, for instance, Mr Mellon claims that military personnel observed a plane that dropped down at supersonic speeds from 60,000 feet in the air, suddenly stopping and hovering right above the ocean – something that no known US aircraft would be capable of.