Incident · 12 February 2023 · Lake Huron, Michigan
Lake Huron object shot down by an F-16 (12 February 2023)
Also known as Lake Huron shoot-down, Lake Huron UAP
Partly explained. The intelligence community's assessment, given by the President on 16 February 2023, was that the three objects shot down that week were most likely private, recreational or research balloons; the Department of War's release leaves this one unresolved. (source)
On 12 February 2023, the third of three unidentified objects shot down over North America in as many days was brought down over Lake Huron by an Air National Guard F-16C. It came a week after the Chinese high-altitude balloon, when NORAD had tuned its radar to pick up slower, smaller objects.
The engagement itself is in the Department of War's PURSUE release 02 (PR071): 46 seconds of infrared footage in which, at the 20-second mark, AARO describes the object "fragmenting in a radial displacement pattern that suggests a high-energy event". The video was item 19 on the House Oversight Task Force's request list.
Four days later the President gave the intelligence community's assessment that all three objects were most likely private, recreational or research balloons. The release lists the Lake Huron video among unresolved cases.
Sources: DOW-UAP-PR071 (PURSUE) · President's remarks of 16 February 2023 (Compilation of Presidential Documents)
Facts and claims
- documented The Department of War's PURSUE release 02 includes infrared footage uploaded to a classified network in February 2023 under the title “USAF ANG F-16C (callsign [CALLSIGN]) Shoots Down UAP over Lake Huron with [Weapon System], 12 Feb 2023”. Source: DOW-UAP-PR071 — USAF ANG F-16C (callsign [CALLSIGN]) Shoots Down UAP over Lake Huron with [Weapon System], 12 Feb 2023
- documented AARO's description: “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.” Source: DOW-UAP-PR071 — USAF ANG F-16C (callsign [CALLSIGN]) Shoots Down UAP over Lake Huron with [Weapon System], 12 Feb 2023
- documented The President said on 16 February 2023 that NORAD had tracked “three unidentified objects: one in Alaska, Canada, and over Lake Huron in the Midwest”, and that “these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research”. Source: govinfo.gov (archived)
Connected files
Official records (PURSUE)
- DOW-UAP-PR071 — USAF ANG F-16C (callsign [CALLSIGN]) Shoots Down UAP over Lake Huron with [Weapon System], 12 Feb 2023 (documented in)
Documents
- House Oversight Task Force letter requesting UAP videos from the Department of War (31 March 2026) (documented in) — Item 19 of the House Task Force letter: “USAF ANG F-16C (callsign AESIR11) shoots down UAP over Lake Huron”
Videos
Mentioned in this file
- PURSUE Release 02 (Event)
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Organization)
- PURSUE — Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (Program)
- All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (Program)
More incidents
- Coast Guard C-144 “Tic Tac” near Tyndall AFB (24 April 2024)
- U.S. military UAP reports over and near the United States (1996–2026)
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- U.S. military UAP reports off Greece (2023–2024)
- U.S. military UAP reports in the AFRICOM area (2020–2025)
- Navy UAP videos from the Pacific Ocean (2019)