Another unidentified object was shot down by US fighter jets, this time over Lake Huron on Sunday, bringing the total number of objects shot down in the last eight days to four. The order from President Biden was part of an extraordinary chain of events over the US airspace, especially during peacetime.
The head of NORAD and US Northern Command, General Glen VanHerck, said in a press briefing that one reason for bringing down the objects was heightened alert after a spy balloon from China entered the US airspace in January.
Since then, there have been multiple shootdowns of similar objects in Canada and Alaska. Even though Pentagon officials said the objects did not pose security threats, they know very little about them and are not ruling anything out.
Homeland Security’s Assistant Defense Secretary Melissa Dalton said that they have been scrutinizing the US airspace more closely and have enhanced the radar, which would also explain the increase in objects getting shot down.
General VanHerck said that the downings were the first time NORAD or the US Northern Command had taken action against airborne objects in US airspace. He also said that he had not ruled out if the objects posed any threat, including if they were UFOs.
In January, officials spotted a white orb from China in the US hovering above the nation for a few days. Fighter jets downed it days later off the coast of Myrtle Beach once they determined it was safe to do so.
The latest object was detected on the evening of Saturday, February 11, over Montana. It was picked up again on radar on Sunday while hovering over Michigan’s Upper Peninsula going over Lake Huron, according to officials.
Planes intercepted the object and tried to identify the octagonal object with no discernable payload, flying at about 20,000 feet.
US officials were still trying to identify other objects previously shot from the sky to determine whether China was responsible for them amid concerns about China’s large-scale aerial surveillance program.
On Saturday, February 11, officials shot down an object over Canada’s Yukon described as a balloon. However, it was much smaller than one shot down on February 4.
On Friday, February 10, another flying object was taken down while flying over Alaska and was described as a more cylindrical type of airship.
F-22 jets shot down a large white balloon on February 4 that hovered over the country for days. Officials blamed China, saying that the balloon was made to detect and collect intelligence. China, however, denied the claims and said it was a civilian meteorological airship that had gone off course.
The incidents have increased diplomatic tensions between the two countries and raised questions about the extent of China’s surveillance of America.