The US military shot down another unidentified flying object over Lake Huron in Michigan on Sunday.
The Department of Defense (DOD) said that President Joe Biden, shortly before 2:42 p.m., ordered an F-16 to fire an AIM-9X missile to shoot down an airborne object flying at about 20,000 feet above Lake Huron.
The Defense Department said the route and altitude “raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation.”
“The location chosen for this demolition gave us the opportunity to avoid impact with people on the ground and improve the chances of debris recovery. There are no indications of injured or affected civilians,” said Lt. Col. César Santiago in a statement. .
It was the third time in as many days and fourth overall since February 4 that an “unidentified object” had been shot down over North America.
Rep. Jack Bergman, Republican of Michigan, confirmed that “the US military has dropped another ‘object’ over Lake Huron.”
Rep. Jack Bergman, Republican of Michigan, confirmed that “the US military has dropped another ‘object’ over Lake Huron.” (fake images)
Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., tweeted that the object had been “shot down” by Air Force and National Guard pilots.
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“Great job by everyone who carried out this mission both in the air and at HQ. We are all interested in exactly what this object was and its purpose,” Slotkin tweeted. “As long as these things continue to traverse the US and Canada, I will continue to call on Congress to get a full report based on our exploitation of the remains.”
“We’ll know more about what this was in the next few days, but for now, rest assured that all parties have been focused on it from the moment it passed through our waters,” he said.
A Chinese spy balloon hovers over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it on February 4. (Chad Fish via AP)
“[F]or now, rest assured all of our groups have been laser focused from the moment it passed through our waters,” Slotkin tweeted.
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, said the Pentagon has notified his office “of the actions they took in shooting down another ‘foreign object’ over Lake Huron.”
“Maximum transparency about what they learn about these objects is essential,” Johnson said in a statement. “We need to take the necessary preventive measures to keep our nation safe. The purchase of replacement large power transformers is imperative to protect the nation’s electrical grid.”
US and Canadian authorities restricted some of the airspace over the lake on Sunday as planes scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object.
“NORAD launched Canadian and US aircraft to investigate, and the object was shot down in US airspace by US aircraft,” said Canadian Minister of National Defense Anita Anand. “We unequivocally support this action.”
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The United States shot down four objects over North America last week, the first being a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. The second and third are believed to have been smaller balloons, which were shot down. over Alaska and Canada, respectively. The one on Sunday is the fourth object shot down in about eight days.
US officials were still trying to pinpoint the other two objects dropped from the sky by F-22 fighter jets in the past two days and were working to determine whether China was responsible as concerns mount over what Washington says. which is large-scale aerial surveillance of Beijing. program.
US forces pull pieces of China’s surveillance balloon out of the ocean. (US Fleet Forces)
US officials said the two latest objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and were flying at lower altitudes than the suspected Chinese spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after being shot down by a US air-to-air missile. They said the objects from Alaska and Canada were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons targeting more than 40 countries, dating back at least to the Trump administration.
That big white orb first appeared over the US in late January, and Americans have been obsessed with the sky above them ever since. US authorities have made it clear that they are constantly monitoring unknown radar signals, and it is not unusual to close airspace as a precaution to assess them.
On Sunday, the United States briefly closed airspace over Lake Michigan; on Saturday night, that was done in rural Montana. Authorities said Sunday they were no longer tracking any objects at those locations.
“North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the object Sunday morning and has been maintaining visual and radar tracking of it. Based on its flight path and data, we can reasonably connect this object to the captured radar signal. over Montana, which flew close to sensitive DOD”. sites,” the DOD said.
“We did not assess that it was a kinetic military threat at all on the ground, but we did assess that it was a hazard to flight safety and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn.” . further.”
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., criticized the Biden administration for its “lack of communication” regarding the Montana airspace closure and recent shootdowns.
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“The top priority should be the safety and security of the American people, and keeping the American people informed is a key part of fulfilling that duty,” Daines said in a statement. “President Biden owes Montana and the country an immediate and full explanation. Without information, the public and media are forced to rely on leaks, speculation, and worse, all misinformation from foreign governments.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
