The military has already shot down three unidentified flying objects over the United States: no one knows yet what it is

On February 12, the US military shot down an unidentified object flying over Michigan. It was the fourth aerial object shot down by US forces in just over a week. Politico.

Photo: IStock

According to a U.S. spokesperson on condition of anonymity, the object was octagonal in shape, with dangling filaments but no appreciable payload. The Pentagon said it was the same object that was recently spotted over Montana near important military installations, leading to the closure of US airspace. Reuters.

US officials identified the first object as a Chinese reconnaissance balloon and shot it down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. On February 10, a second object was shot down over sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska. And a third object was destroyed over the Canadian Yukon on February 11, and investigators are still looking for its wreckage.

Representatives of the Department of Defense on February 12 in the evening refused to say what the three objects shot down over the weekend could be. This raised questions about the threat these facilities might pose to civilians across North America. It is not known what the purpose of these objects was.

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US Air Force General Glen VanHerke, who is tasked with guarding US airspace, refused to rule out any possibility, including the question of whether the objects were of extraterrestrial origin. The military was unable to determine what these last three objects were, how they were kept in the air and where they were flying from.

After the general's speech, a Defense Department spokesman who wished to remain anonymous said that "there are no signs of aliens or extraterrestrial activity in these recent episodes."

As for the Chinese balloon, Melissa Dalton, assistant chief of defense for national defense and American security, said, "We had the evidence and evidence to know for sure that its place of origin was the People's Republic of China." With the next three objects, there is no such certainty.

Since the first episode, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has changed its approach to air surveillance over North America, Dalton added. Those efforts include "taking a closer look at our airspace ... including strengthening our radar, which could at least partially explain the increase in the number of objects we have detected over the past week," she said.

The last object was first detected on February 11 at 16:45 over Canada. It soon entered US airspace, eventually disappearing from radar over Montana and reappearing over Wisconsin. By that time, American F-16 fighters and Canadian F-18s had been raised to intercept him. One F-16 shot him down with a Sidewinder missile over Lake Huron, where the object likely crashed into Canadian waters, VanHurke said.

According to a statement from the Department of Defense, President Joe Biden gave the order to shoot down the object based on the advice of Defense Chief Lloyd Austin and military leadership.

Although military officials did not assess it as a threat to anything on the ground, the path and height of the object raised concerns. It could pose a danger to civil aviation, officials said.

“Today, a flying object was detected in US airspace over Lake Huron. NORAD launched Canadian and U.S. aircraft to investigate and the object was shot down in U.S. airspace by U.S. aircraft, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said in a statement. “We unequivocally support this action and will continue to work with the United States and NORAD to protect North America.”

Two members of the US House of Representatives from Michigan, Republican Jack Bergman and Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, confirmed earlier on Feb. 12 that Air Force and National Guard pilots shot down an object over Lake Huron.

Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan) tweeted, "I am delighted that the facility has been neutralized over Lake Huron and I will continue to demand transparency from the Department of Defense."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking after a briefing by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on the objects, said Feb. 12 that US national security officials believe they are balloons. Both of the objects shot down this week were flying at an altitude of 12 km, so it was "immediately determined" that they posed a threat to commercial aircraft flying at the same height, Schumer said.

On February 12, a Pentagon spokesman disagreed with Schumer.

“These objects shot down on February 10 and 11 were objects and did not closely resemble a People's Republic of China balloon,” Sabrina Singh said. “When we can collect the debris, we will have more information.”

Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the alleged Chinese spy balloon intrusion, saying it should have been brought down much sooner.

"We got a huge amount of intelligence from watching the balloon as it flew over the United States," Schumer said Feb. 12, adding that experts "could probably put together" the entire balloon to find out more.

“China can get intelligence anyway, but we need to know what they're doing,” Schumer said.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, on Feb. 12 called for an aggressive stance on the destruction of airborne objects.

While such objects "sometimes" passed through US airspace, Turner said, the current scale is unprecedented.

“China is clearly aggressively invading the airspace of other countries and is doing so with the clear intent of spying, using very sophisticated equipment,” he said.

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Turner said the episodes speak to a larger problem in protecting US airspace, including radar settings and the lack of an integrated missile defense system.

“This is a turning point where we need to discuss – is this a threat and how do we respond to it?” - He said.

Silence Biden

One Democratic congressman said on Feb. 12 evening that Biden's silence was "weird," especially given that "people are scared," reports CNN.

The presidential administration is trying not to give any assessment of what is happening so far. One person familiar with the administration's discussions said that, as of the weekend, U.S. officials were simply still trying to figure out exactly what these objects were, including their country or countries of origin, and whether they posed a serious danger.

“The American people deserve timely answers about the objects that were shot down over Lake Huron this weekend,” said Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “We need to understand the nature of the threat to our national security.” As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I expect to be briefed on these incidents early this week.”

Biden last spoke directly about the recent downings on Feb. 10, when he answered a question about an operation to destroy a target over Alaska. He said, "It was a success." Biden aides believe that comments about objects without a full understanding of what they are could raise additional concerns. His team warned him against going public until at least some preliminary information about the objects was obtained.

Chinese claims

China has accused the United States of "illegally" launching high-altitude balloons into its airspace more than 10 times since January 2022, prompting an immediate denial from the White House, reports CNN.

The accusation, made by China's Foreign Ministry without evidence, comes less than a day after China said it was preparing to shoot down an unidentified object flying near its east coast. At a regular press conference on February 13, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that "American balloons often illegally enter the airspace of other countries."

“Since last year alone, American high-altitude balloons have illegally crossed Chinese airspace more than 10 times without permission from the relevant Chinese authorities,” Wang said.

It is not clear why China did not release these details earlier and whether it reacted to the alleged incursions when they happened.

“Any claim that the US government is using observation balloons over the PRC is false. It is China that has a high-altitude surveillance balloon program to collect intelligence that it has used to violate the sovereignty of the United States and more than 40 countries on 5 continents,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson tweeted on Feb. 13.

Wang also accused the US of frequently sending warships and aircraft to carry out close-range reconnaissance against China, which he said totaled 657 times last year and 64 times this January in the South China Sea.

"For a long time, the US has abused its own technological advantages to carry out large-scale and indiscriminate wiretapping and stealing secrets from all over the world, including from its allies," Wang said, adding that the US is "an established surveillance empire."

He also accused the US of "hyping and exaggerating" the situation and "using it as a pretext for illegal sanctions against Chinese businesses and institutions." Beijing claims the downed object was a civilian research airship that went off course. Unlike in the US, where the hot air balloon caused serious public concern, the topic became the butt of jokes on Chinese social media, where nationalists ridiculed the US for its reaction to the "weather balloon".

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Meanwhile, maritime authorities in China's Shandong province said on February 12 that they had spotted an "unidentified flying object" over the waters near the port city of Rizhao and were "preparing to shoot it down," according to state-run news outlet The Paper. In a text message to fishing boats, maritime authorities in the nearby port city of Qingdao urged crews to be on the lookout to avoid danger and, if possible, assist in efforts to collect the wreckage.

“If debris is falling near your boat, help take photographs to collect evidence. If conditions permit, please help save him,” the Jimo District Maritime Development Department in Qingdao said in a statement.

The report does not specify what kind of object it was, where it could have come from, and at what altitude it was flying.

As of February 13 noon local time, Chinese authorities and state media have not provided any updates, and it is not clear if the object has already been shot down.

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