Image released of mysterious object shot down over Yukon in 2023
Released through a Canadian freedom of information request, the grainy image appears to be a photocopy of an email printout.
Heavily redacted documents show how the image was approved for public distribution within days of the headline-grabbing incident, but then held back after a public affairs official expressed concerns that releasing it "may create more questions/confusion."
CTVNews.ca has requested a higher resolution copy.
What did Norad shoot down?
A U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down the object on Feb. 11, 2023, shortly after it entered Canadian airspace in the Yukon territory, which borders Alaska. It was one of three unidentified aerial objects(opens in a new tab) blasted out of the sky that month following the high-profile Feb. 4, 2023 downing of an apparent Chinese surveillance balloon(opens in a new tab). Shot down over Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron between Feb. 10 and 12, 2023, the three objects were reportedly much smaller than the towering Chinese balloon.
At the time, officials described the Yukon object(opens in a new tab) as a "suspected balloon" that was "cylindrical" in shape. A reported Pentagon memo(opens in a new tab) said it appeared to be a "small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it."
Released as part of the freedom of information request package, an email from a Canadian brigadier-general offered what they described as the "best description that we have" of the Yukon object.
"Visual - a cylindrical object," they wrote in an Feb. 11, 2023, email. "Top quarter is metallic, remainder white. 20-foot wire hanging below with a package of some sort suspended from it."
The image appears to have been taken from an aircraft below it, although that has not been confirmed.
Why was the image never released?
The image of the Yukon object was distributed internally on Feb. 14, 2023. The next morning, it was declared unclassified and approved for public release.
In a partially redacted email thread, additional footage is mentioned. Canada's former top soldier and previous Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre(opens in a new tab) even suggested using the declassified picture in an upcoming social media post.
"Attached is an image approved to be released," a Feb. 15, 2023, email to Canadian military leaders says. "We are looking at getting a better one to send to you."
But despite a flurry of emails to clear the image for public release, the Department of National Defence's acting assistant deputy minister for public affairs soon poured cold water on the idea.
"Should the image be released, it would be via the [Canadian Armed Forces] social media accounts," the public affairs official wrote on Feb. 15, 2023. "Given the current public environment and statements related to the object being benign, releasing the image may create more questions/confusion, regardless of the text that will accompany the post."
Later that afternoon, Gen. Eyre's public affairs officer added that the image would be held back "pending U.S. engagement."
The photo was never released.
Reached Monday morning, Canada's Department of National Defence said it would not be able to immediately respond to a request for comment. Emphasizing that it was declassified and already approved for public release, CTVNews.ca has requested the original image file.
"In a very large organization such as the military, different elements and even different people may have different views on what information can be made public," Iain Boyd, director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado, told CTVNews.ca. "Ultimately, the public affairs office has responsibility to vet all external communications."
Why have so few details emerged?
The documents were provided to CTVNews.ca by a civilian researcher who wishes to remain anonymous. It took Canada's Department of National Defence 18 months to respond to the March 2023 access to information request. The information release package includes reports and emails from the Canadian Armed Forces' Strategic Joint Staff, the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canada's Norad operation. Short for North American Aerospace Defense Command, Norad is a joint Canada-U.S. defence group that is responsible for protecting the continent from incoming attacks.