Lake Huron F-16 Shootdown

Verified against primary source

Stated date

2023-02-12

Location

Lake Huron, ~20,000 ft (US/Canada border)

Agency

DOW

Official status

likely balloon-like (AARO); not definitively characterized; not recovered

Officially Documented

Evidence strength

How solid the official record is — source authority, corroboration, evidence quality, provenance, and disposition.

Partially Explained

Anomaly level

How far officials are from explaining it. Unexplained means officials haven’t explained it — never that it is extraterrestrial.

VERIFIED: PURSUE 02 release 22 May 2026 + Feb 2023 DoD/NORTHCOM statements + Milley briefing. AARO assesses likely balloon-like (radar/drift/thermal); described octagonal w/ strings at the time, pilot skeptical, never recovered; first AIM-9X missed. NOT in AARO FY24 report (predates that period).

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Scores are computed from the published methodology, not assigned by hand. This page is generated from the register’s case data.