PURSUE Record — PURSUE R02 DOW-UAP-PR071 — Lake Huron F-16C UAP shootdown (12 Feb 2023): U.S. Department of War / Air National Guard · Lake Huron — airspace abo

Record DOW-UAP-PR071 is a single-part military sensor video released on May 22, 2026, as part of the PURSUE Release 02 video bundle. It documents an active military engagement over Lake Huron on 12 February 2023, during which a U.S. Air Force Air National Guard F-16C fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at an unidentified aerial object — making it, according to the releasing agency, the first military engagement footage involving a UAP to be released to the public. The releasing agency is the U.S. Department of War, in coordination with the Air National Guard.

What this record contains

The record is classified by the Department of War as a VID file — a military sensor video capture — comprising a single file part. The incident it documents occurred on 12 February 2023 in the airspace above Lake Huron, in the corridor straddling Michigan and Ontario. According to the official description, a Minnesota Air National Guard F-16C engaged and downed an unidentified object using an AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missile. The Department of War's official blurb states that this engagement was one of three shootdowns conducted in the days following the Chinese spy balloon incident over Montana earlier that same month, and that federal analysts assess the Lake Huron object as "likely balloon-like in nature."

The public release does not include detailed sensor metadata — such as IR band, altitude parameters, or engagement range — beyond what appears in the official description blurb. What the Department of War has confirmed is the engagement type, the platform (F-16C), the munition (AIM-9X Sidewinder), and the federal assessment of the object's character. The video itself represents the primary evidentiary content of this release.

Sensor & operational context

Military fighter aircraft of the F-16C generation typically carry a combination of HUD (heads-up display) recording systems and, depending on loadout and configuration, targeting pod imagery — often Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR). The AIM-9X Sidewinder is an infrared-guided short-range missile, meaning the engagement sequence the footage documents would likely include the terminal approach and detonation captured through one or more of those sensor channels. Infrared video of this kind records heat signatures rather than visible-light detail, which means object geometry and surface features may be ambiguous or absent depending on the recording angle, sensor mode, and atmospheric conditions over the lake on that date.

Operationally, the February 2023 shootdown series emerged from a posture shift within NORAD following the first Chinese balloon. After radar detection thresholds were adjusted to catch slower-moving objects at varying altitudes, a cluster of contacts — including the Lake Huron object — were detected in quick succession and engaged under rules of engagement that prioritized airspace security. That operational climate is central to understanding this record: the decision to engage was made under significant institutional pressure, with incomplete real-time identification, and the subsequent federal assessment of "likely balloon-like" is a post-hoc analytical conclusion rather than a confirmed identity.

What this does and does not prove

The documented facts are: an F-16C of the Minnesota ANG fired an AIM-9X over Lake Huron on 12 February 2023, downing an aerial object; the U.S. Department of War has now released sensor video of that engagement; and federal analysts have assessed the object as "likely balloon-like in nature." What the record does not establish — at least not from the metadata alone — is the precise identity, origin, or purpose of the downed object. "Likely balloon-like" is a probabilistic assessment, not a confirmed attribution. The video may add visual evidence that narrows or confirms that assessment, but the public record as described stops short of a definitive identification. Viewers should interpret this footage as evidence of an engagement with an unidentified object that has since received a tentative but not conclusive explanation.

How it fits PURSUE Release 02

DOW-UAP-PR071 sits at the operational center of the PURSUE Release 02 video bundle, which focuses on contemporary Department of War sensor records. Unlike the FBI archival materials and NASA program imagery that anchor earlier releases, this record is recent, domestic, and kinetic — it captures an active use of lethal force against an unidentified object over American and Canadian airspace within the last three years. Its inclusion alongside other PURSUE cases, some of which carry resolved explanations such as weather balloons and sensor artifacts, reflects the analytical discipline the Department of War has stated is guiding the PURSUE series: release the full evidentiary picture, including cases where the explanation is mundane, so that the unresolved cases can be properly contextualized. You can review the complete catalogue of PURSUE Release 02 records, as well as prior PURSUE materials, on the SkyLens UAP files page, and additional editorial coverage of the February 2023 shootdown series can be found in the SkyLens PURSUE blog archive.

Editorial note: This analysis is independent commentary on a publicly released document. The original record, source links, and full release metadata are catalogued on the SkyLens UAP files page alongside every other case in the PURSUE Release 01 set.