A newly released image of a UFO shot down by a US fighter jet over Canada in 2023 has raised questions about the object seen over the Yukon.
Obtained via a Canadian freedom of information request from CTVNews, the grainy image of the UFO seems to be a photocopy of an email printout. The outlet says the blurred image depicted a “cylindrical” object identified as a “suspected balloon.” It was situated 40,000 feet above Canada in February 2023, just days before it was shot down.
On February 11, 2023, a US F-22 fighter jet successfully intercepted and shot down the object. It had been tracked flying over Alaska eight days prior.
Officials in the US and Canada resumed tracking the UFO as it entered Canadian airspace. This prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to authorize its destruction shortly after 4:50 p.m. An American pilot destroyed the target using an AIM-9X missile.
The airborne object, previously referred to as a “small metallic balloon with a tethered payload,” was observed alongside three other instances in which North America encountered unidentified aerial phenomena.
From February 10 to February 12, three objects were observed drifting over North America before being shot down over Alaska, the Yukon, and Lake Huron, respectively.
All of them were smaller than the suspected Chinese spy balloon that traveled from Alaska across the United States before being shot down over South Carolina on February 4, 2023.