CTV News acquired an image of an unidentified object downed by a US Air Force F-22 Raptor over the scarcely populated Yukon territory near Alaska in February 2023. The image likely represents a photocopy of an email printout.
The documents indicate that the image was initially approved for publication shortly after the incident, but this approval was subsequently withdrawn. The image, which had been shared within the defense department, was deemed potentially problematic as its release might provoke “additional questions.”
A grainy photograph, which appears to be a photocopy or printout, depicts a nondescript round white object with indistinct edges. This object is reportedly the one shot down by a US Air Force F-22 stealth fighter during a joint operation with the Canadian Armed Forces.
The photo of the UFO, recently made public, was notably marked “unclassified” mere days following the incident. It subsequently came into possession of a Canadian journalist who then disseminated the image. The military has not been quick to release the photograph themselves.
A public relations official from the Canadian Department of National Defence cautioned colleagues that releasing this unclassified image of the UFO might provoke further questions and confusion, suggesting this as a potential reason for the delay in publication.
Taylor Paxton, the Canadian National Defence Director of Electronic Communications, informed military colleagues that confusion was expected “given the current public environment and the claims of the facility’s harmlessness.”
In a letter from Canadian Brigadier General Eric Laforeste, the UFO was characterized as a “cylindrical object”: “The top quarter is metallic, and the remainder is white. There is a 20-foot wire at the bottom with some sort of attached package.”
Ian Boyd, an aerospace engineering professor and the director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado, deemed the Canadian government’s hesitance to release the image as a national security issue, even though the photo is marked as “unclassified.”
“It all boils down to the fact that these episodes illustrate the potential vulnerability of the defense system of the United States and Canada,” Boyd said.
The media failed to provide precise details about the nature of the object and its cargo.
Ian Boyd notes that the lack of detailed information has fueled conspiracy theories. Nevertheless, the military prefers this scenario over revealing details that could expose defense vulnerabilities.
CTV News reports that its journalists intend to request the Canadian military for higher-resolution version.
CTV News reported that the request for information, submitted in March 2023, received a response from the Department of Defense after 18 months. The search for the object’s wreckage was halted on February 17, 2023, due to severe winter conditions.
Despite President Joe Biden’s assurances that the downed objects likely posed no threat, the absence of comprehensive information and visuals has shrouded these events in mystery.
