First image released of ‘cylindrical’ UFO shot down by US fighter jet over Alaska in 2023

Canada has released the first photo of a UFO shot down during a chase over Alaska and the Yukon Territory following the now-infamous Chinese spy balloon drama in February 2023.

The unusual, grainy and apparently photocopied or printed photo shows an apparently round white object with indistinct edges – shot down by a U.S. Air Force F-22 stealth fighter during a joint mission with the Canadian Forces.

One notable feature of the recently released UFO photo is that it was marked “unclassified” within days of the now 19-month-old incident.

One possible reason, an official in the Public Affairs Division of the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) warned his colleagues, was internal fear that releasing this unclassified UFO image “might create more questions/confusion.”

The strange photo shows what appears to be a circular white object shot down by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter during a joint mission with the Canadian Armed Forces. Above, another USAF F-22 Raptor during an air show over Toronto, Canada on August 31, 2024

The official, Taylor Paxton, director of electronic communications at the Canadian Department of National Defence, advised military colleagues that such confusion would be inevitable “given the current public situation and statements that the object is harmless.”

Paxton said any attempt by the Royal Canadian Air Force to release the photo on social media would likely only lead to more questions from the general public and press, “regardless of what the text might be with the post.”

The emails obtained along with the creepy new UFO photo by CTVNews.ca Reporter Daniel Otis, who filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, also concerned efforts by members of the Canadian Armed Forces to better understand the downed plane.

In an email from Canadian Brigadier General Eric Laforest, the UFO was described as a “cylindrical object.”

“Top quarter metallic, rest white. 20 feet of cable hanging below with a package of some kind,” wrote Brigadier Laforest. “Best description we have.”

The suspected spy balloon was one of four aerial objects shot down by the US over the eight days of February 2023. One unusual feature of the recently released UFO photo is that it had already been declared ‘unclassified’ within days of these 19-month-old incidents.

One possible reason, a public affairs official at Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) warned his colleagues, was the Canadian military’s internal fear that releasing this UFO image “could create more questions/confusion.”

The dark areas visible along the top center of the UFO in this newly released image may indicate the upper metal portion or the remains of the alleged “package.”

But this publication only adds to the wave of spy-like UFO activity surrounding the confirmed downing of an authentic Chinese government spy balloon earlier that month off the coast of Myrtle Beach, North Carolina.

Iain Boyd, a professor of aerospace engineering and director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado, described the Canadian government’s reluctance to release the image as a matter of national security, despite its “unclassified” designation.

“The bottom line is that these episodes illustrate a potential vulnerability in the U.S. and Canadian defense system,” Boyd said.

“The lack of more information has certainly led to conspiracy theories,” he told CTVNews.ca, “but the military is likely to accept this outcome rather than reveal information that could help an adversary identify weaknesses in its defenses.”

According to the CTV News report, the network’s journalists plan to petition the Canadian military for a higher-resolution version of this UFO image.