Journalist Ross Coulthart revealed in a recent podcast interview that there may be more to the February UFO shootdowns than meets the eye — at least for one out of three of those strange incidents. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened in February when some airspaces were shut down and NORAD scrambled jets to shoot down unidentified objects in three locations. Even footage of the shootdowns hasn’t been released. Now, Coulthart — who was one of the first to interview whistleblower David Grusch about his UFO allegations — says that one of those incidents needs a closer look. And a closer look at what went down with that UFO does indeed reveal some irregularities.
To review a comprehensive, in-depth breakdown of all of David Grusch’s claims that there’s a secret UAP reverse engineering and retrieval program, with citations, see our story here.
Multiple Sources Told Coulthart to Look More Closely Into the Alaska Shootdown
In a recent interview with That UFO Podcast, which was released in early October, Coulthart said he was told that there’s more to one of the three February shootdowns .
At about 45 minutes into the interview, he dropped the intriguing commentary.
“I got told a while back, by reliable multiple sources that I should take a much closer look at the Alaska shootdown,” he said. “I’m told we haven’t been told the full story about that particular incident. I’m told that in all probability, the Yukon object and the Lake Huron object were in all likelihood benign, prosaically explained objects.”
But the Alaska object is different, he added.
“But I’m told there’s a real question mark about the Alaska object,” he said. “And moreover, I’m also told that there were earlier UAP incidents that month that have not been disclosed by NORAD.”
The three UFO shootdowns all took place after the Chinese spy balloon was shot down on February 4.
- A UFO was shot down over Deadhorse, Alaska, on February 10.
- The 2nd UFO was shot down in the Canadian Yukon on February 11.
- The 3rd UFO was shot down on February 12 over Lake Huron.
Interestingly, after a classified briefing about the UFOs on February 14, Sen. John Kennedy said in a press conference that the objects have been in our airspace for years. He added: “What I took away from the briefing today…is that this has been going on for a long, long, long time. At least 2017. Last week we were told 2019… Lock your doors tonight.”
The Alaskan UFO Was Silverish-Gray, Cylindrical & Pilots Said It Interfered with Their Planes’ Sensors
There’s a lot to unpack about the Alaskan UFO that was shot down over Deadhorse, Alaska, on February 10. This is the one Coulthart was told to pay closer attention to. Here are the main points:
- It was the size of a small car, the Guardian reported.
- It was at an altitude of 40,000 feet (per CBC).
- It had no signs of propulsion, and was cylindrical and silverish-gray in color (per ABC.)
- Pilots said the object in Alaska interfered with their planes’ sensors and they couldn’t figure out just how it was staying in the air.
- Pilots had visuals and got images of the object (ABC)
- Fighter aircraft determined it wasn’t manned (ABC)
- The search for debris was called off on February 17. An official press release said U.S. Northern Command worked closely with the Alaska National Guard, FBI, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, but ended operations due to “artic conditions and sea ice instability.”
- In early August, NORAD said NORTHCOMM shot down the Alaskan object, not NORAD.
- This is UAP #20, referenced in a classified Trudeau memo recently released.
A local from Alaska was sharing videos of what might have been efforts to collect the UFO debris in Deadhorse. He said that he had already noticed that all the people allegedly searching had left Deadhorse before it was officially announced that the search for debris had been called off. His account, Backcountry Alaska, later deleted the videos. Backcountry Alaska explained in a YouTube comment why he took down the videos, writing: “I had to take them down because someone here on the slope crashed a big semi truck and they cracked down on social media use. So I deleted everything to avoid getting in trouble at my job.”
The 2nd UFO Was Shot Down in Canada by NORAD & Was Speculated to Possibly be a Hobbyist Club’s Balloon
The second UFO was shot down in the Canadian Yukon on February 11. Here’s a rundown of the main characteristics about this one.
- This is UAP #23, referenced in a classified Trudeau memo recently released. The memo said the UAP’s method of propulsion, function, and affiliation were unverified.
- It was shot down by a U.S. NORAD F-22 Raptor.
- It was smaller and tougher to detect, Rep. Dan Crenshaw tweeted.
- CAF led recovery operations, but “mountainous terrain, existing snow cover and expected new snowfall make prospect of recovery unlikely,” the memo said.
- The search was called off because debris couldn’t be located and weather hindered the effort, Global News reported.
- There was speculation this UFO might have belonged to a hobbyist club in Illinois.
The 3rd UFO Was Octagon-Shaped, Flying Lower Than the 1st Two, & Shot Down Over Lake Huron
The third UFO was shot down on February 12 over Lake Huron. Here’s a quick rundown of its main characteristics.
- NORAD said NORTHCOMM shot down the Lake Huron object, not NORAD.
- Congressional sources told The Wall Street Journal that the UFO was octagon-shaped.
- It might have had strings attached, the Guardian reported.
- Rep. Crenshaw tweeted that this one was larger and easier to pick up by radar, more closely resembling a balloon.
- It was shot down by an F-16.
- It was flying at 20,000 feet, rendering it a “hazard to commercial aircraft.”
- It was near the Canadian border, BBC reported, and observed the day before in the Montana sky.
- The search for debris near Lake Huron was called off on February 17.
- U.S. Coast Guard District 9, the FBI, the Canadian Coast Guard, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police worked together to try to find debris, according to a press release.
Footage of Aircraft Shooting Down the Objects Is Still Classified
To this day, footage of aircraft shooting down the objects remains classified.
A Defense Department spokesman told Fox New in late March: “The footage of the high altitude objects and the takedown of those objects exists… (but) none of that footage has been cleared for release… The footage remained classified.”
When John Greenewald of Black Vault also requested the files via FOIA, he was told: “Under Exemption 1 and AFMAN 33-302, referencing Executive Order (EO) 13526 that apply to the continued classification of information, the requested information is withheld and not releasable.”
The exemption listed applies to items “concerning the national defense or foreign policy.”
In early August, NORAD told Barnett Parker of KOMO TV that they don’t have a gun-camera video to release because the targeting system that took the video is classified.
David Grusch to @RepAndyBiggsAZ regarding February UAP Shoot-downs:
"I've seen some of the videos of the recent shoot-down, and I saw no reason that couldn't have been released as long as they mask some data. The American people deserve to see that imagery in full motion video." pic.twitter.com/U94TYWFe0T
— UAP News (@HighPeaks77) August 4, 2023
However, Grusch told Rep. Andy Biggs during a House hearing in July that he had seen “some of the videos of the recent shoot-down, and I saw no reason that couldn’t have been released as long as they mask some data. The American people deserve to see that imagery in full motion video.”
NORAD Conducted Multiple Air Defense Exercises After the UFOs Were Shot Down
NORAD began a series of air defense exercises shortly after the three UFOs were shot down.
On February 14, the Alaskan Region of NORAD conducted a “routine intercept of Russian aircraft entering Air Defense Identification Zone” and noted in a tweet that this was “in no way related to recent NORAD and U.S. Northern Command operations associated with airborne objects over North America during the last two weeks.”
Then on February 15, NORAD hosted a “planned, life-fly air defense exercise off the coast of British Columbia and Washington State.” This was noted to be “in no way related to recent NORAD and U.S. Northern Command operations associated with airborne objects over North America during the last two weeks.”
Then again on February 15, NORAD hosted another air defense exercise — a “live, fly-air defense exercise” — this time off the coast of North Carolina. This was also noted to be “in no way related to recent NORAD and U.S. Northern Command operations associated with airborne objects over North America during the last two weeks.”
Then, again on February 15, NORAD announced an air defense exercise over Key West and west of Everglades National Park, also not related to recent airborne objects.
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