Pentagon keeps footage of 'UFOs' downed over Alaska, Lake Huron, and Yukon during Chinese spy balloon fiasco classified

Last month, US F-22 Raptors fighter jets shot down three unidentified flying objects over Alaska, Lake Huron, and the Yukon territory in Canada, but the Pentagon will not release footage of the objects and has said the video will remain classified.

The Daily Mail reports a Pentagon press officer told the outlet, "I can tell you that there is not currently any images or video footage that we can release."

"The imagery remains classified, and I have not received any information as to the potential timeline on a change in classification," the official added.

A spokesman for the Defense Department confirmed that footage exists of the US Air Force using sidewinder missiles to down the objects, which flew in the North American territories February 10 to 12, but there are no plans to change the videos' classification status from classified.

On February 4, the US military downed a Chinese surveillance balloon in the Atlantic Ocean after it traversed a large portion of the continental United States and quickly released an image of the object captured by an air force pilot.

On March 14, the pentagon also rapidly released video of an air collision over the Black Sea between a Russian jet flying and a US drone.

According to the Daily Mail, the Biden administration may be reluctant to release the footage out of embarrassment that the objects were "as harmless as a hobbyist weather balloon."

Senator Josh Hawley wrote, "Joe Biden let a Chinese spy balloon cross the entire US. Now he’s shooting down everything that flies. Why? Who knows. He apparently doesn’t. Either the Biden Administration is lying to us or they’re totally and completely incompetent. Or both."

On February 11, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that there were Canadian efforts underway to recover the wreckage shot down over the Yukon. Six days later the search was called off by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

In a statement the RCMP said, "The RCMP has decided to discontinue search efforts in the Yukon for the aerial object shot down on February 11. The highest probability area has been searched and the debris was not located."

President Biden later admitted the three objects were likely civilian research balloons and on February 17 announced the searches were canceled for the remaining objects' debris.

"To be fair, Biden is providing is powerful deterrence for any high school science clubs that might try to invade America…." Ted Cruz wrote on Twitter.