The United States has so far "
no indication
" that the three flying objects recently shot down are of Chinese origin or have had spy functions, a spokesperson for the House said on Tuesday February 14. -White.
These "
objects
" (to be distinguished from the Chinese balloon destroyed on February 4 and which Washington claims was spying on its territory) "
could be balloons with harmless commercial or scientific functions
", acknowledged John Kirby, spokesman for the Council of national security of the US executive.
Debris recovery
He also confirmed that on Sunday February 12, the fighter plane sent for one of them over Lake Huron, on the Canadian border, had missed its target and that a first missile had "fallen directly
into the lake
”.
The "
object
" was destroyed by another missile.
John Kirby however specified that it would be necessary to wait to analyze debris to determine with certainty the nature, the use or the origin of these "
objects
", but the recovery operations promise to be uncertain.
Read also“Chinese trial balloon”
What remains of the "
objects
" shot down Friday February 10 above Alaska (Northwest), Saturday above the Yukon in northwestern Canada, and Sunday above Lake Huron, fell back to frozen waters, in remote areas or in the depths of the lake.
“
We have not found any debris
” so far, repeated John Kirby, indicating that all the information he communicated was based in particular on “
observations made by the pilots
” of the fighter planes sent to the area.
Read alsoWestern radars challenged by spy balloons
Uncertainty therefore persists around these "
objects
", to the point of having forced the White House on Monday to very officially deny any "
extraterrestrial
" origin.
The United States, on the other hand, persists in its description of the Chinese balloon shot down earlier, according to it carrying surveillance equipment and being part of a vast global spy program of China, which Beijing fiercely denies.
The American authorities explain that following the discovery of this balloon, they adjusted their radar systems, which led to these successive discoveries and destructions of
flying “
objects ”.
