USA and China argue about downed "UFOs".
The NATO Secretary General is now also getting involved in the discussion.
There is even an alien statement on the US side.
The news ticker.
White House
sees no evidence of
extraterrestrials
: USA react to speculation
UFO launches
over the USA and Canada: NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg recognizes “patterns
This
news ticker
about the
shooting down of another flying object over the USA
is constantly updated.
Update from February 15, 10:21 a.m .:
According to a media report, the US military has been following the route of the downed Chinese balloon since it started.
The balloon was observed for a good week before it entered US airspace in late January, the
Washington Post
reported , citing several US officials.
The balloon started from its home base on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.
He initially took a trajectory that appeared to take him over the US territory of Guam, where several US military bases are located, it said.
But then he unexpectedly took a northerly course.
The balloon later hovered over Alaska's Aleutian Islands and then drifted over Canada, from where it appeared to have been blown towards the mainland United States by strong winds.
According to the report, analysts are now investigating the possibility that China did not want to intentionally invade the American heartland with its "surveillance device".
Chinese surveillance balloon shot down - allegations against China
Update from February 15, 6:33 a.m .
: In the guesswork about the unidentified flying objects over North America, the pressure on US President Joe Biden is increasing.
Politicians from both political camps demanded that it be more transparent on Tuesday (local time).
So far, Biden has not commented on the three aircraft shot down over US and Canadian airspace between Friday and Sunday.
Instead, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there was no indication the missiles were spying.
However, it is not yet known where the objects came from and why they were in the sky.
Senators from both political camps received more information about the events behind closed doors on Tuesday.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said after the briefing that he now understands the incidents better, but that the population needs to know more about them.
But he is not concerned that the United States would be threatened.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton said Americans have a right to know why Biden shot down the craft.
Update from February 14, 9.45 a.m .:
After the launch of a fourth "object" over the USA, the US Department of Defense has informed members of Congress about further details, as reported by the US broadcaster CNN, citing anonymous officials.
The flying object was therefore a "small, metallic balloon with an attached payload".
Other officials told the station that when the object was shot down, the first missile fired by an F-16 missed its target.
Due to the very small size, the target was difficult to hit, General Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), emphasized at the press conference after the incident.
But he didn't mention the first missile that missed its target.
According to CNN, it is unclear where the rocket landed.
Fourth "UFO" shot down: US comments on alien speculation
Update from February 13, 8:19 p.m .:
In view of increasing speculation about the flying objects shot down over North America, the White House felt the need for clarification – and ruled out a possible connection with extraterrestrials.
"There is no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial activity in these recent launches," spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday in Washington.
"I wanted to make sure the American people knew that." There were a lot of questions about it.
"And it was important for us to say that from here."
Increased surveillance activities: NATO Secretary General comments on UFOs
Update from February 13, 5:46 p.m .:
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the suspected espionage objects over the USA are part of increased surveillance activities by countries such as China and Russia.
The Norwegian spoke on Monday in Brussels of a "pattern in which China, but also Russia, increased their intelligence and surveillance activities against NATO allies".
You can see this in cyberspace, in more and more satellites, but also in balloons.
It is therefore important to strengthen and improve the exchange of information and the surveillance and protection of the airspace, said Stoltenberg.
Better cooperation on space issues will also be a topic at the meeting of the defense ministers of the 30 NATO countries on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels.
It's about sharing data, collecting more data from commercial satellites and sharing it with the NATO command structure.
Three flying objects shot down: Minister explains increased sightings
Update from February 13, 3:28 p.m
.: The three flying objects shot down since Friday (February 10) (over Alaska, the Yukon Territory and Lake Huron) were discovered thanks to changed radar settings, according to US Deputy Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton.
After launching the first balloon, parameters were changed to look for smaller and slower objects.
US rejects accusations from Beijing: "Do not let balloons fly over China"
Update from February 13, 3:01 p.m
.: The US government rejects allegations from China that American balloons have repeatedly flown over China at high altitude.
"That's absolutely not true," National Security Council communications director John Kirby told MSNBC.
"We don't fly balloons over China."
Update from February 13, 2:07 p.m .
: The balloon shot down a few days ago was used for espionage purposes – the USA is certain about this.
But Deputy Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton has been cautious about the three other flying objects that have been discovered since then.
On Sunday (February 12), she only said that it was known that public and private research institutions also launch their own research vehicles into the atmosphere at these heights.
After flying object incidents: Republicans hand out against Biden
Update from February 13, 1:21 p.m
.: The Republicans sharply criticize US President Joe Biden after the flying object incidents.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner has accused Biden of border security failures.
Senior US officials appeared "trigger-happy," he said on CNN's State of the Union Sunday (February 12).
At least that's better than the "compliance they showed when the Chinese spy balloon flew over sensitive locations in our country," Turner said.
He had already accused Biden that the alleged spy balloon had only been shot down when it had “long since fulfilled its mission”.
The object should never have entered US airspace.
connection with aliens?
US Northern Command commander 'doesn't rule anything out'
Update from February 13, 12:38 p.m
.: Since Friday (February 10), three unknown flying objects have been sighted over North America: over the US state of Alaska, over the Canadian Yukon Territory and – most recently – over Lake Huron.
US Northern Command commander Glen VanHerck said all three were "very small" and moving very slowly, about the speed of the wind.
When asked by the Reuters news agency whether he ruled out an extraterrestrial connection, he replied: "I'm not ruling out anything."
USA and China communicate for the first time via suspected spy balloon
Update from February 13, 11:50 a.m
.: The United States communicated with China about the case for the first time almost ten days ago after the launch of a suspected spy balloon.
There were "contacts with the People's Republic of China because of the high-altitude balloon," Deputy Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton told journalists on Sunday (February 12).
She did not provide any information on who was involved in the contact or what it contained.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had initially unsuccessfully requested a meeting with his Chinese counterpart.
On Thursday (February 9), Beijing confirmed that it had declined a phone call with him after the balloon launch because "the irresponsible and seriously erroneous approach taken by the US" for dialogue was "not a suitable atmosphere".
China calls US 'the world's leading spy empire'
Update from February 13, 11:06 a.m
.: China raises further allegations after the United States shot down several flying objects.
"It's pretty clear which country is the leading spy empire in the world," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a news conference.
He also referred to wiretapping and the vast network of United States agents.
The US intercepted foreign government leaders' conversations and messages from Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and other European countries.
Global Times report: Chinese Navy also reports UFO sighting
Update from February 13, 10:28 a.m
.: China also reports the sighting of an unidentified flying object (unidentified flying object, abbreviation: UFO).
This is reported by the Chinese state newspaper
Global Times
, citing information from the Navy in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong on Sunday evening (February 12).
According to authorities, the UFO was seen off the coast near the city of Rizhao.
Preparations are being made for the launch, the report said.
China raises allegations against USA: Balloons "illegal" in Chinese airspace
Update from February 13, 10:13 a.m
.: Is it possibly a counterattack due to the latest reports of another unknown flying object?
Since January 2022 alone, US balloons have illegally entered Chinese airspace "more than 10 times," according to China's Foreign Ministry.
China responded "responsibly and professionally," said a spokesman in Beijing.
He urged the US to "change course and examine itself instead of slandering and blaming China."
The day-long overflight of a Chinese balloon over the United States had led to a scandal between Washington and Beijing.
Washington said the balloon that was shot down was one of a fleet of spy balloons that flew across five continents.
China denied the allegation.
Shooting down of an unidentified flying object (UFO): Official statement from China
Update from February 13, 9:39 a.m .:
China does not want to know anything about the further launch of a missile by the USA.
According to the Chinese Global Times,
a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said
in Beijing.
The fact that the United States "frequently" took unidentified flying objects out of the sky was an "overreaction".
Update from February 13, 8:55 a.m .:
After US fighter jets shot down a fourth object over Lake Huron in the north of the country on the border with Canada, the Pentagon informed the current situation with both a message and a press conference via Zoom.
US officials told
CNN
that the object was an octagonal structure with loosely attached ropes and no visible cargo.
The Pentagon said in a statement it is now recovering parts of the object shot down at 20,000 feet to gather more information.
The statement also said that the object did not pose a "kinetic threat" to targets on the ground.
However, it was a danger to civil aviation.
In addition, it was also a threat due to possible espionage capabilities, which is why the object was shot down by an F-22 fighter jet with an AIM-9X missile.
At the subsequent press conference via Zoom, Assistant Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton and US Northern Command Commander Glen VanHerck addressed the press.
United States shoot down flying object over Lake Huror
First report from February 12:
Washington – The sightings of mysterious flying objects over the USA seem to be slowly rolling over.
As several US media reported on Sunday, the US military shot down another missile.
The process apparently took place over Lake Huron, which lies in the border area between the USA and Canada.
The broadcasters CNN and ABC initially reported the shooting down of the flying object, citing security circles.
There was initially no official information about what happened.
However, shooting down a flying object over Lake Huror would be the fourth sighting in a very short space of time.
For an overview: A week ago, the USA took a Chinese balloon out of the sky off the coast of the state of South Carolina.
The incident caused a stir.
While the US says the balloon may have been used for espionage purposes, China's government denies the allegations, claiming the balloon just went off course.
A short time later, US fighter jets shot down two unidentified flying objects on Friday and Saturday: one off the coast of the US state of Alaska, the other over northern Canada.
With the latter two, however, much is still unclear - including the questions of who the flying objects come from, what exactly they were and what purpose they were supposed to serve.
(nz with dpa)
Rubric list image: © IMAGO/Mc1 Tyler Thompson/Us Navy
