The mystery surrounding UFO sightings and military response just got a little stranger.
The first publicly released image of a UFO shot down by U.S. fighter jets during a dramatic chase near Alaska in 2023 has surfaced, raising more questions than answers. The eerie photo, now in the public eye thanks to Canada’s defense department, shows a glowing, horseshoe-shaped object with hazy, ill-defined edges floating over the Yukon territory in northwest Canada. This sighting and takedown, which happened in February 2023, followed closely on the heels of the infamous Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off South Carolina’s coast earlier that month.
The UFO, one of three objects shot down by American and Canadian forces between February 10 and 12, was described as much smaller than the Chinese spy balloon but just as perplexing. A U.S. Air Force F-22 stealth fighter took it out in a joint mission with Canada’s Armed Forces. The craft was reported to be over the remote Yukon territory when it was intercepted. According to redacted documents, the image of the UFO was classified as “unclassified” within just a few days of the incident. Yet, Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) kept the photo under wraps, with internal discussions revealing concerns about stirring up public confusion.
JUST IN – First image released of ‘cylindrical’ UFO shot down by US fighter jet over Alaska in 2023 – Daily Mail pic.twitter.com/zqJDtfi1DJ
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) September 24, 2024
Taylor Paxton, a director of communications for DND, cautioned that releasing the image could cause more confusion than clarity, especially given how the object had been publicly described as “benign.” Paxton noted that posting the UFO photo on social media would likely lead to a flood of questions from the press and public, no matter what explanations accompanied it.
The image’s release comes after investigative work by CTVNews.ca reporter Daniel Otis, who obtained the UFO photo and associated emails via a public records request. These communications also shed light on the military’s effort to understand the unidentified object. Canadian Brigadier-General Eric Laforest, for example, described the UFO as a “cylindrical object” with a metallic top and a 20-foot wire hanging below, which had some kind of package attached. The dark portion visible in the newly released image could be this metallic section or remnants of the attached package.
Adding to the intrigue, this object was just one of three shot down over North America during that strange February weekend. The other two objects were downed over Alaska and Lake Huron, fueling speculation and conspiracy theories as the public and media scrambled for explanations. The wave of UFO activity was seen by many as part of a larger espionage game following the confirmed Chinese spy balloon takedown.
Pentagon shoots down unknown object flying in U.S. airspace off Alaska coast pic.twitter.com/rqTaw6qDy5
— nikola 3 (@ronin19217435) February 11, 2023
According to Iain Boyd, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado, the hesitation to release this UFO image boils down to national security. “It illustrates a potential vulnerability in the U.S./Canada defensive system,” Boyd told CTVNews.ca. He added that while holding back information has fueled conspiracy theories, military officials likely prefer that over revealing any defensive weaknesses to adversaries.
While the UFO image is now public, its grainy quality leaves much to the imagination. CTV News reporters have expressed plans to petition for a higher-resolution version of the image in hopes of further unraveling this growing mystery. As it stands, this release only deepens the intrigue surrounding these unidentified objects and what they might represent. Whether they’re linked to espionage or something more otherworldly, one thing is clear: the questions aren’t going away anytime soon.
