Declassified UFO files: Video of Lake Huron encounter with F-16 near UP released by Pentagon

FOX 2 – The Pentagon’s newest release on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Friday includes a mysterious incident over Lake Huron near Michigan’s Upper Peninsula after a shoot-down a few years ago.

Timeline:

The revelation comes from a Feb. 12, 2023 incident which was part of a second set of declassified files. 

A newly declassified video shown in infrared, depicts an object appearing to be a weather balloon shot down – moments before a bright white object appears to the right of the crosshairs.

The bright white object appears to float around the crosshairs on video before eventually disappearing.

In the declassified release, a 46-second video with redactions shows the encounter, labeled “USAF ANG F-16C [CALLSIGN] Shoots Down UAP over Lake Huron with [Weapon System], 12 Feb 2023,” from an infrared sensor “aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Northern Command area of responsibility in 2023.” 

“At the 11-second mark, the sensor focuses on an area of contrast in the center of its field-of-view,” the video description says. “At the 20-second mark, the footage appears to depict a kinetic interaction between two distinct areas of contrast, with the initial subject of the footage fragmenting in a radial displacement pattern that suggests a high-energy event.”

The file release does not speculate on the origin of the object, saying it was for informational purposes only.

Two screenshots of what appeared to be a balloon shot down in the moments before the bright object appeared:

Before and after pictures captured from DOD released video.

“Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance,” the statement said.

More than 60 new files ranging from government documents, military surveillance videos and audio transcriptions of people reporting unexplained orbs, disc and fireballs.  The review and declassification is being handled by the Department of Defense, with support from the Director of National Intelligence. 

Most of the documents, videos and files are from unresolved cases, some previously released, with no definitive determination on the nature of what was observed. 

Dig deeper:

The Feb. 12 incident happened amid a flap of weather balloon sightings, including one which was labeled a Chinese spy balloon shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.

The head of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command declined to give any details about what it was, but in retrospect was likely commenting on the balloon, and not the balloon-like object.

Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of the United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, did not categorize those objects as balloons publicly at the time.

“I haven’t ruled out anything,” VanHerck said at the time when asked if the objects could be aliens or something else extraterrestrial. 

Related: Mysteries swirl around object shot down over Lake Huron

According to the general, an object was spotted on a radar in Canada the day before. That object then crossed into the U.S. and was spotted over Montana. However, the track was lost. An object spotted in Wisconsin was “likely” the same one as the one seen in Montana.

VanHerck said the military prepared to engage the object and watched it pass over Lake Michigan before shooting it down over Lake Huron.

Ominously, in retrospect, when asked at the time if there are potentially more objects flying, VanHerck said “it’s certainly possible,” but he could not confirm that.

For more information, click here for the latest batch of files: war.gov/UFO/

Picture captured from DOD released video with red circle added.