As UFO Anxiety Grows, Canadian Search Teams Hunt for Wreckage
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Al
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The Pentagon reported that U.S. military fighter planes downed an octagonal object in Lake Huron. It was the latest incident after a Chinese surveillance balloon placed North American security forces at high alert.
This was the fourth object that had been shot down by a U.S.-made missile over North America in less than a week. China’s foreign ministry denied that it had any information about the three latest flying objects hit by the United States.
General Glen VanHerck from the U.S. Air Force is charged with safeguarding U.S. Airspace. He said that the military was unable to identify the latest three objects, their altitude, and origin.
“We’re calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason,” VanHerck, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and Northern Command chief, stated.
VanHerck claimed he would not rule aliens out or any other explanation.
“I’ll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out,” He stated.
An additional defense official, who spoke under anonymity, stated that the military had not yet seen evidence that the objects were extraterrestrial.
A U.S. F-16 fighter destroyed the object at 2 :42 p.m., local time, over Lake Huron near the U.S./Canada border. This was according to Brigadier General Patrick Ryder (Peninsula spokesperson).
Ryder stated that although it didn’t pose any military threat, it could have interfered with domestic air traffic at 20,000 feet (6100m) and might have had surveillance capabilities.
A U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity and said that the object looked octagonal in shape, with strings hanging off, but not a discernible payload.
According to the Pentagon, the object was similar to one that was detected near sensitive military sites in Montana. The Pentagon closed U.S. airspace. VanHerck said that the military will attempt to recover and learn more about the object, which was found over Lake Huron.
He indicated that it probably fell into Canadian waters.
This incident raised questions about the slew of strange objects that have been seen in North American skies over recent weeks. It also raised tensions between China and North America.
“We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing,” Debbie Dingell, a U.S. Representative, was one of many Michigan legislators who applauded military action for destroying the object.
Officials from the United States identified the first object as a Chinese surveillance balloon and sent it down off South Carolina’s coast on February 4. A second object was also shot down by U.S. officials over the sea ice in Alaska near Deadhorse. Investigators are still looking for the wreckage of the third object that was shot down over Canada’s Yukon.
“The security of citizens is our top priority and that’s why I made the decision to have that unidentified object shot down,” On Sunday, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister, spoke to reporters.
North America is on alert for aerial intrusions since the arrival of the Chinese white-colored airship above American skies earlier in the month.
The balloon, which was 200 feet tall (60 meters high) and used to spy on the United States by Beijing, caused an international incident that led Secretary of State Antony Blinken just hours before his departure to cancel a planned trip in China.
According to Pentagon officials, they have been examining radar more closely ever since.
U.S. officials are on alert due to surveillance fears
Officials from the United States closed airspace twice in 24 hours – and only then did they reopen it quickly.
The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace above Lake Michigan on Sunday. The U.S. military deployed fighter jets to Montana on Saturday to investigate a radar anomaly.
China says the first balloon was not used for surveillance. It claims it was a civilian research aircraft. It condemned the United States of shooting it down off South Carolina’s coast on Saturday.
Chuck Schumer, the U.S. Senate Majority leader, told ABC that U.S. officials believed two of the new objects were smaller balloons then the original.
According to the White House, only recently taken objects were allowed to be destroyed “did not closely resemble” The Chinese balloon echoing Schumer’s description. “much smaller.”
“We will not definitively characterize them until we can recover the debris, which we are working on,” A spokesperson said.
DEBRIS IN REMOTE LACALE
Canadian counterparts may face challenges trying to unravel what happened over the Yukon. It is located in Canada’s far northwest and borders Alaska. The territory is sparsely populated. The winter can be extremely cold, but the temperatures are unusually mild at this time of year, which could help ease the recovery efforts.
Mike Turner, a Republican lawmaker, is a member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. He suggested that the White House may be compensating for its past lax oversight of American airspace.
“They do appear somewhat trigger-happy,” CNN spoke with Turner Sunday. “I would prefer them to be trigger-happy than to be permissive.”
Republicans have criticised the Biden administration’s handling of the Chinese spy balloon incursion, saying that it should have been stopped sooner.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart & Idrees A; Additional reporting from Steve Scherer and Andrea Shalal at Washington, Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Dan Whitcomb and Martin Quin Pollard at Beijing; Writing and Editing by Raphael Satter, Tim Ahmann, Lisa Shumaker, Toby Chopra).
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