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What is known about the four unidentified objects shot down at high altitude over North America?

2023-02-13T14:29:06.215Z


The unidentified object the United States shot down over Lake Huron on Sunday was the fourth shot down over North America in less than two weeks.


By Mirna Alsharif and Dan De Luce -

NBC News

The unidentified object the United States shot down over Lake Huron on Sunday was the fourth shot down over North America in less than two weeks and the third in as many days.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told ABC News that US authorities believe an object shot down Friday over Alaska, as well as one shot down Saturday over Canada, were balloons.

So was the object shot down this month off South Carolina, which authorities said China was using for surveillance.

[USA.

shoots down “high-altitude object” over Alaska after Chinese balloon crisis]

A national security spokesman said the objects over Canada and Alaska "did not look very similar and were much smaller than" the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down on February 4.

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 retrieve a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on February 5, 2023. US Navy via AP

In the wake of the Chinese balloon flight, the US military is looking at a broader range of radar data when monitoring North American airspace, and is looking at more objects and smaller objects that it might have filtered out as clutter in the past. , according to two US Defense officials.

The Washington Post newspaper was the first to report this change.

It is not yet clear if the military is detecting objects that have been present but gone unnoticed or if there are new airborne objects that were not present before.

[USA.

shoots down another unidentified object over Lake Huron - fourth in less than two weeks]

A defense official said the North American Aerospace Defense Command is examining more raw radar data than ever before.

“We still don't know if these phenomena have been around for a while and we're seeing them now, or if it's something new.

Between the data from the object recovery and the review of our radar technical data, we are working to better understand it," he stated.

Here's what you need to know about the mysterious objects:

Saturday February 4

An F-22 Raptor shot down a balloon traveling at 60,000 feet with a Sidewinder missile at 2:39 p.m. ET off South Carolina near Myrtle Beach, according to authorities.

China was using the balloon, which entered US airspace on January 28, for surveillance of strategic sites on the US mainland, according to the Defense Department.

Air Force General Glen VanHerck, commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, told reporters that the balloon was 200 feet (60 meters) high and weighed more than 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms). 

The downed flying object over Canadian territory had a cylindrical shape

Feb 12, 202303:21

The balloon was capable of maneuvering: loitering, slowing down, and accelerating.

It contained multiple antennas capable of picking up intelligence signals and solar panels to power them.

The United States and China exchanged harsh words, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressing in a statement its "firm discontent and protest at the use of force" by the United States.

[USA.

shoots down new "unidentified" aircraft that violated Canadian airspace]

The ministry has said the balloon was "a civil aircraft used for research, primarily for meteorological purposes," and that it entered US airspace due to force majeure, or uncontrollable events, a point the ministry reiterated in its statement from Saturday, calling it a "completely accidental situation."

A senior administration official, reacting to China's statement on Saturday, reaffirmed the position that the balloon was a surveillance balloon that "purposely traversed" the US and Canada and said that "we are confident that he was trying to monitor sensitive military sites."

US Northern Command said recovery efforts are continuing.

The FBI is assisting in the effort, which includes Navy ships.

Friday February 10

An F-22 fighter jet assigned to US Northern Command using an A9X missile shot down an object flying at about 40,000 feet that was described as "about the size of a small car" just northeast of Alaska, near the Canadian border, on the Arctic Sea, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Kirby said the US does not know who owns the object, which he declined to call a balloon.

[It was the size of a car and flew very high: this is what we know about the second object that the US shot down with a missile]

Fighter pilots from Northern Command shot down the object around 1:45 p.m. ET.

They were able to determine that it was "unmanned" before shooting it down.

"Success," President Joe Biden said Friday in response to a question from reporters at the White House.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he had been "informed on the matter and supported the decision to take action," adding: "Our military and intelligence services will always work together, including through @NORADCommand, to keep people safe."

US believes China deploys spy balloons around the world

Feb 9, 202300:27

The remains are being recovered in a mix of ice and snow, and the response has involved Alaska-based units under the direction of Northern Command, along with the Alaska National Guard, according to the Pentagon late Friday.

Northern Command said on Saturday that search and recovery operations continued through the weekend.

[China accuses the US of using “indiscriminate” force against the globe]

"Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety," it said in a statement.

“Remedial activities are occurring on the sea ice.

We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin."

Saturday February 11

An F-22 fighter jet shot down an object estimated to be flying at 40,000 feet, and that NORAD had been tracking for 24 hours, using an AIM 9X missile over the Canadian territory of Yukon at 3:41 pm (local time). by order of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canadian and US officials confirmed.

The object was described as cylindrical and "potentially similar" to but smaller than the balloon shot down on February 4, according to Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand.

After US and Canadian military aircraft were dispatched, a US F-22 shot down the object over the Yukon, Trudeau tweeted Saturday afternoon.

The operation was coordinated by NORAD, the combined air defense organization of the United States and Canada.

[What is a spy balloon and why does the supposed detection of one of Chinese origin in the United States raise alarms?]

White House and Pentagon officials confirmed early Saturday that the decision was made in consultation with Biden, who was briefed on the object on Friday.

Trudeau said Sunday that investigators are looking for the wreckage of the plane.

"Recovery teams are on the ground trying to find and analyze the object," Trudeau told reporters before leaving for a scheduled fundraiser in the Yukon.

Schumer told ABC News that US authorities believe the object and the object shot down on Friday were both balloons.

Anand said remains were being recovered on Saturday night.

Although the origin of the object was still unknown, Canada and the United States had to proceed with "eyes wide open" to the possible involvement of China.

[The Pentagon detects another “spy” balloon from China, this time over Latin America]

According to a White House reading of the call on Saturday, Biden and Trudeau discussed the importance of recovering the remains in order to determine the object's purpose and origin.

Sunday February 12

The US military shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron, two US officials and a congressional source said.

All the officials said there is no indication of collateral damage, that the object fell into the lake and that authorities hope to recover it.

Biden ordered the last unidentified object to be shot down, a senior administration official said.

The official said that it was an octagonal structure from which ropes hung and that, although there is no indication that it had surveillance capacity, that possibility has not been ruled out.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-02-13

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