Enlarge image
Fighter jets took the objects from the sky (symbol image)
Photo: HANDOUT/AFP
Since the sighting of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the United States, the airspace over North America seems to be full of unknown flying objects.
At the weekend not a day went by without a kill.
It is still unclear what exactly the objects are.
The debris will now be collected and examined, then answers should follow.
But there is already some evidence that the investigations will come to the conclusion that the objects are not quite as unusual as they seem.
Comparable aircraft may have been flying in the sky for a long time, but they were just not noticed or ignored.
Balloon, dragon or something completely different?
In any case, the excitement was so great that both Canada and the USA decided to use fighter jets to get the objects out of the sky.
Specifically, there are three objects:
One was shot down over Alaska on Friday night.
The object is said to have posed a threat to the safety of civil air traffic.
It was at an altitude of around 12,200 meters, which is also where passenger planes fly.
For comparison: spy balloons rise about twice as high.
Where the object came from and what purpose it served remains unclear.
However, it is said to have had no surveillance technology on board.
The object is probably not meant to be a balloon.
Another unidentified flying object was shot down over Canada on Saturday.
It is said to have a cylindrical shape, but according to US circles it could still be some kind of balloon.
Just a day later, on Sunday, the US military pulled another high-flying object out of the sky.
This is also said to have posed a possible threat to civil airspace.
The first descriptions are reminiscent of a kite.
According to this, it had an octagonal structure with hanging cords, but carried no discernible cargo.
Unidentifiable flying objects have been seen over Alaska for the past few weeks, Senator Dan Sullivan said, according to the local Alaska Beacon news website.
Things appeared on the radar that could not be clarified.
So why the fuss all of a sudden?
Since the sighting of the alleged spy balloon from China over the USA, a closer look has been taken.
After all, the balloon should be part of an entire surveillance system.
The fleet of surveillance balloons is said to have been spotted last year but has been in use for much longer, reports CNN, citing unnamed insiders.
In the meantime, the USA had developed methods to track the objects.
Other radar settings could explain sightings
After sighting the balloon, the North American Air Defense Command, or Norad for short, practically sharpened the radar systems, reports the New York Times, among others.
"We've been taking a closer look at our airspace at these altitudes, including upgrading our radar," said Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and US security affairs.
That could be one reason for the surge in sightings, Dalton said.
Accordingly, the objects caused only weak radar signals and moved at speeds that correspond to the wind, reports the Warzone platform, which provides information in particular on military air technology.
Radars filter out certain information, and some of these filters have now been adjusted, affecting speed and altitude, for example.
As a result, objects that are particularly high and slow may have become visible.
It was the first time Norad had shot down a flying object in American airspace.
Was it aliens?
According to theories, the objects could have been sent to spy on the US radar system.
The launches could now give a glimpse of what has been in the sky for a long time, previously largely unnoticed.
"We need to close these gaps as soon as possible because now we will certainly realize that there is a threat," Mike Turner told CNN.
He is the chairman of the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives.
Just over a month ago, the US government published a UFO report.
Since March 2021 alone, more than 360 sightings of unidentifiable aerial phenomena, as the Pentagon calls UFOs, have been reported.
Not all of them could be explained.
It is questionable whether there is a secret service or military operation behind each of the unknown flying objects.
The airspace is full of civil aircraft.
Amateur drones have repeatedly paralyzed entire airports.
Even aliens are not ruled out as an attempt at an explanation.
And unknown objects are not only sighted over North America.
On Sunday, China issued a warning to Fischer that it was preparing to shoot down an unidentified flying object.
"Don't worry," tweeted SpaceX boss Elon Musk, apparently in response to the unknown flying objects.
Only some of his friends would come by.
He also posted the face of an alien and a spaceship.
