- Unidentified object shot down over Hurton Lake.
- The US general says the military is unable to identify the last three items.
- Army to investigate the origin of objects, increasing frequency.
Washington: US Army fighter jets shot down an octagonal object on Sunday Lake HuronThe Pentagon said it was the latest incident in which a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon has put North American security forces on high alert.
It was the fourth flying object to be shot down by a US missile over North America in a little over a week.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Glenn Van Hurk, who is tasked with protecting U.S. airspace, told reporters that the military has not been able to identify what the three most recent objects are, how they stay aloft, or whether they Where are they coming from?
“We’re calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason,” said Van Hurk, head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Northern Command.
Van Hurk said he would not rule out foreign or other explanations. “I’ll let the intelligence community and the counterintelligence community figure that out,” he said.
Another defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, later said the military had seen no evidence that the objects were extraterrestrial.
On the orders of President Joe Biden, a US F-16 fighter jet shot down the object over Lake Huron at 2:42 p.m. local time. US-Canada borderThis was said by Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder in an official statement.
While it did not pose a military threat, the object could potentially interfere with domestic air traffic because it was traveling at an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) and may have involved surveillance, Ryder said. The potential was there.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the object appeared to be octagonal in structure, with hanging wires but no discernible payload.
The Pentagon said the object is believed to be the same one that was recently found near sensitive military sites in Montana, prompting the closure of US airspace. Van Hurk told reporters that the military will try to recover the object that was dropped on Lake Huron to learn more about it.
He said it likely landed in Canadian waters.
The incident has raised questions about unusual objects appearing in the skies over North America in recent weeks and heightened tensions with China.
“We need the facts about where they’re coming from, what their purpose is, and why they’re increasing in frequency,” said U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingle, one of several Michigan lawmakers who objected. He praised the army for ending the
US officials identified the first object as a Chinese surveillance balloon and shot it down off the coast of South Carolina in February. 4. On Friday, a second object was shot on the sea ice near Dead Horse, Alaska. And a third object crashed on Canada’s Yukon on Saturday, with investigators still searching the wreckage.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Sunday that “the safety of citizens is our number one priority and that is why I decided to shoot down this unidentified object.”
North America has been on alert for aerial intrusions since a white, eye-catching Chinese aircraft appeared over US skies earlier this month.
The 200-foot-tall (60-meter-high) balloon — which the Americans accuse Beijing of using to spy on the United States — caused an international scandal, prompting Foreign Minister Anthony Blanken to call off China’s plan. The tour was canceled within hours. Before he leaves.
Pentagon officials said they have been examining the radar more closely since then.
US officials are on high alert due to surveillance concerns.
Twice in 24 hours, US authorities closed the airspace – only to quickly reopen it.
On Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly closed the area over Lake Michigan. On Saturday, the US military shot down fighter jets in Montana to investigate a radar malfunction there.
China denies that the first balloon was being used for surveillance and says it was a civilian research craft. It condemned the United States for shooting it down off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC that US officials believe two of the latest objects were smaller balloons.
The White House said only that the recently dropped objects “did not closely resemble Chinese balloons,” echoing Schumer’s description of them as “very small.”
“We won’t characterize them until we have recovered the debris, which we are working on,” a spokesman said.
Debris in a remote area
Trying to match the Canadian counterparts that were shot on the Yukon can have their own challenges. This region is a sparsely populated area in the northwest of Canada bordering Alaska. It can be brutally cold in the winter, but temperatures are unusually mild for this time of year, which can make recovery efforts easier.
Republican lawmaker Mike Turner, who serves on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, suggested the White House could make up for what he described as lax oversight of U.S. airspace. What was stated?
“They seem somewhat happy with the stimulus,” Turner told CNN on Sunday. “I’d rather be trigger-happy than let them.”
Republicans have criticized the Biden administration’s handling of a suspected Chinese spy balloon infiltration, saying it should have been shot down long ago.