UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 02 · MAY 22, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · VIDEO · DOW-UAP-PR071USAF ANG F-16C (callsign [CALLSIGN]) Shoots Down UAP over Lake Huron with [Weapon System], 12 Feb 2023
This clip appears to show a weapon being used. Its title says a U.S. Air Force Air National Guard F-16C, callsign withheld, shot down a UAP over Lake Huron on 12 February 2023 using a weapon whose name is also redacted. AARO places the video in U.S. Northern Command’s area in 2023 and believes it came from an infrared sensor on a U.S. military platform. It was posted to a classified network the same month.
The 46 seconds
Eleven seconds in, the sensor settles on a patch of contrast in the middle of the frame. At 20 seconds, in AARO’s words, the footage appears to show a “kinetic interaction” between two separate areas of contrast — a physical strike — after which the original target breaks apart in a pattern spreading outward from the center, which AARO says suggests “a high-energy event.” The office does not identify the second contrast area, though the title implies it was the weapon.
The shoot-down in context
The Lake Huron engagement was one of several shoot-downs over North America in February 2023, following the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon off South Carolina earlier that month. U.S. officials said afterward that the smaller objects were most likely balloons tied to commercial or research purposes, and the debris from Lake Huron was not recovered. AARO’s description does not address what the object was; as for every clip in this set, it says its timeline is not an analytical judgment. A related report from the following day is DOW-UAP-PR070.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released May 22, 2026, quoted in full
On March 6, 2026, eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives requested access to 51 potentially UAP-related records allegedly held by the Department of War and the Intelligence Community. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) identified a collection of responsive materials held on a classified network. Many of these materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.
AARO assesses that this video, whose uploader-defined title is, “USAF ANG F-16C (callsign [CALLSIGN]) Shoots Down UAP over Lake Huron with [Weapon System], 12 Feb 2023,” is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating within the United States Northern Command area of responsibility in 2023. A user uploaded this video to a classified network in February 2023.
Video Duration: 00:00:46 Video Description: At the 11 second mark, the sensor focuses on an area of contrast in the center of its field-of-view. 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.
This video description is provided for informational purposes only. Readers should not interpret any part of this description as reflecting an analytical judgment, investigative conclusion, or factual determination regarding the described event’s validity, nature, or significance.