LAKE HURON · 2023 [DOW · NORTHCOM · IR]
WATCH IN UMBRA: the full clip, native playback
WHAT THE FOOTAGE SHOWS
The clip is DOW-UAP-PR071, 46 seconds long. AARO assesses it is likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform operating in the Northern Command area of responsibility in 2023. The first stretch is a blank display. At the 11 second mark the sensor focuses on an area of contrast in the center of its field of view, and at 20 seconds AARO says 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." The seven-second excerpt above begins just before the object appears.
THE TITLE IS THE UPLOADER'S
The name on the file, which describes an Air National Guard F-16C shooting down a UAP over Lake Huron on 12 February 2023 with a weapon system whose name is redacted, is the title the original uploader chose. AARO calls it exactly that, the uploader-defined title, and its own assessment is narrower: likely infrared footage from a U.S. military platform in the Northern Command area in 2023, uploaded to a classified network in February 2023. The video description says nothing about an aircraft, a weapon or the identity of either object.
THE PUBLIC BACKGROUND
In early February 2023, after a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the United States, U.S. fighters shot down three more unidentified objects on three consecutive days, over Alaska on February 10, over Canada's Yukon on February 11, and over Lake Huron on February 12. On February 16 President Biden said the three smaller objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions. No recovery of wreckage from the Lake Huron object was publicly announced, so the footage has never been matched to a recovered object.
WHY THE PROVENANCE IS FLAGGED
Release 02 carried a different kind of material from the first release. On March 6, 2026, eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives asked for access to 51 potentially UAP-related records said to be held by the Department of War and the intelligence community. AARO found responsive material on a classified network and notes that much of it lacks a documented chain of custody, so the clips are presented as received and the titles on them are the uploaders' own, not the government's.
WHERE IT SITS IN THE RECORD
PR071 is one of several Northern Command clips in Release 02 (May 22, 2026). Another, DOW-UAP-PR068, is titled for a January 20, 2023 video captured by a fifth generation aircraft: a 63-second infrared track in which a second area of contrast appears at 0:48. Umbra plays every clip with AARO's full description, source markings intact. For the Coast Guard clips from the same release, see the Tyndall videos.
What does the Lake Huron UAP video show?
A 46-second infrared recording. After a blank start, the sensor centers on an area of contrast, and at about 20 seconds AARO says the footage appears to show a kinetic interaction between two areas of contrast, with the first fragmenting in a radial pattern.
Is it the object shot down on February 12, 2023?
The uploader titled it that way, but AARO calls the title uploader-defined and does not itself confirm what the footage depicts beyond its own description. Many of the Release 02 materials lack a substantiated chain of custody.
What was the Lake Huron object?
The record does not say. On February 16, 2023 President Biden said the three smaller objects shot down that weekend were most likely balloons tied to private, recreational or research groups. No wreckage from the Lake Huron object was publicly reported recovered.
When was the video released?
In PURSUE Release 02 on May 22, 2026, as case number DOW-UAP-PR071.
Where can I watch the full video?
Umbra, a free iOS reader of the public PURSUE record, plays the full clip natively with AARO's description and source markings intact.
> The full Lake Huron clip, with AARO's description, on your iPhone.
