A drone mistaken for a UFO in Washington, D.C. caused a lot of area residents to freak out, prompting several concerned individuals to place calls to 911. What folks witnessed, of course, was an experimental unmanned aircraft being transported on a flatbed truck down I-270. If the government intended to move an unidentified flying object from one destination to another, chances are they wouldn’t cart the thing around for everyone to see.

Naturally, nobody stopped to consider the reality of the situation. Instead, they did most would expect them to do: jump to ridiculous conclusions. In fact, after reading about the supposed UFO on Twitter — it was apparently trending at the time — a man called 911 in hopes of finding out if everyone was okay. At one point, the concerned citizen asks if the operator can get on Twitter to see the photos people have taken. You can listen to the entire call below.

The official word coming out of Northrop Grumman is that the terrifying object in question is an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System, which was on its way to Maryland for testing. Conspiracy theorists will no doubt draw their own conclusions about the aircraft. After all, how else do you explain the vehicle’s peculiar shape?

“[It’s] a shape that minimizes its refection of potential … enemy radar signals,” Northrop Grumman spokesperson Brooks McKinney explained.

All kidding aside, the aircraft does strongly resemble an old-school, 1950’s B-movie flying saucer, so you can’t really blame people for getting a little worked up over its appearance. Still, considering the government claims UFOs don’t exist, I seriously doubt they’d transport one in such a conspicuous manner.

Hey, if nothing else, It certainly makes for a good story.

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