An image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023 has been obtained by CTVNews.ca.
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 blasted out of the sky that month following the high-profile Feb. 4, 2023 downing of an apparent Chinese surveillance balloon. 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 as a "suspected balloon" that was "cylindrical" in shape. A 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 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.
Citing harsh winter conditions and remote mountainous terrain, efforts to recover debris from the Yukon object were called off on Feb. 17, 2023. Searches were also halted for the objects shot down above Alaska and Lake Huron. While U.S. President Joe Biden has said the three objects likely posed no threat and were probably private or research balloons, a lack of details and imagery has created an air of mystery around the incidents when compared with the well-documented Chinese balloon.
Boyd, who is also a professor of aerospace engineering, says the incidents of February 2023 ultimately illustrated a failure by the U.S. and Canada to accurately identify objects in their airspace, hence the ensuing secrecy.
"It comes down to these episodes illustrating a potential vulnerability in the U.S./Canada defensive system," Boyd added. "Certainly the failure to provide more information has fed conspiracy theories, but the military will likely accept that outcome over disclosing information that may help an adversary identify defensive weaknesses."
In the documents, the Yukon object is referred to as "UAP 23." "UAP" typically stands for "unidentified aerial phenomena," which has largely replaced the terms "UFO" and "unidentified flying object" in official circles. CTVNews.ca previously reported that the Yukon object was the 23rd so-called "UAP" tracked over North America in the first few weeks of last year.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon, NASA and American lawmakers have recently gone public about their efforts to investigate UAP. In Canada, the Office of the Chief Science Advisor's Sky Canada Project plans to release its own official UAP report this year.
Do you have an interesting document or observation to share? Email CTVNews.ca Journalist Daniel Otis at daniel.otis@bellmedia.ca.
