Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Prashant Chauhan
In the last three days, the United States has shot down three unidentified aerial objects, again raising the “unidentified anomalous phenomenon” in the region.
On Sunday, 12 February, the US military shot down a fourth flying object in just 8 days, over Michigan’s Lake Huron, near the Canadian border.
The incident comes just a few days after the US shot down unidentified aerial objects i. US and Canadian airspace on Friday and Saturday.
The US military is yet to find out what these objects are, what is their purpose, and who sent them. But the spate of UFOs flying over North American skies has put security forces on high alert. Here is what we know so far.
4 February: Chinese Spy Balloon Shot Down Over the Atlantic
On 4 February, the United States shot down a giant Chinese balloon that had allegedly been "spying" on key military locations across the country.
The Department of Defense said that an F-22 fighter jet shot down the balloon, that had been hovering over the US for close to a week. The balloon was targeted when it was off the coast of South Carolina.
Officials of the US Department of Defense confirmed on 2 February that the military was tracking the balloon as it flew over the continental US at an altitude of about 60,000 feet, including over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The base houses the 341st Missile Wing, which operates nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The US said that Saturday afternoon was its first chance to destroy the balloon "in a way that would not pose a threat to the safety of Americans.”
Footage purportedly showed the moment when the balloon was shot, after which it was seen falling to the sea.
China, however, slammed the US over the incident, saying that it was "clearly overreacting."
"China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant enterprises and reserve the right to make further necessary responses," the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Meanwhile, reports claimed that the balloon was part of a global surveillance effort by China that also targeted Indian military installations.
The vast surveillance programme run by the People’s Liberation Army has collected information on military assets in several countries including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines, according to US officials cited by the newspaper.
Expand
10 February: UFO Shot Down Over Alaska
On 10 February, a US F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Alaska, which broke into small pieces after being shot down and most likely was not a balloon, a Defense Department official said.
John F Kirby said that US President Joe Biden had ordered that the object be downed “out of an abundance of caution.”
The balloon had reportedly travelled over Alaskan land and was on its way towards the North Pole when it was shot down.
Officials from the Pentagon said that they were able to bring the object down immediately, so that they could avoid the dilemma they faced when dealing with the recent spy balloon incident, which drifted over populated areas and promoted commanders to reccomend that Biden wait to avoid any chance of debris striking people on the ground.
Three US officials, quoted by The New York Times said that the government was unsure of who owned or sent the object seen above Alaska.
"It came in, inside our territorial airspace and over territorial waters. It did not appear to have manoeuvrability capability. It was virtually at the whim of the wind,” US National Security Council Coordinator John F Kirby said.
Expand
11 February: UFO Shot Down Over Canada
On 11 February, acting on the order of Biden and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, an American fighter jet shot down a small, cylindrical, flying object, adding fuel to the recently fiery North American skies.
“I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,” Trudeau said in a statement posted on Twitter, adding that an American F-22 with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which is jointly operated by the US and Canada, shot down the object over the Yukon territory.
He also said that he HAD spokeN to Biden on Saturday afternoon, adding that Canadian forces would recover and analyse the object, which was flying at 40,000 feet and posing a risk to civilian air traffic.
Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand declined to speculate about the object’s origin and said that it was smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down a week ago, but was similar in appearance.
“There is no reason to believe that the impact of the object in Canadian territory is of any public concern,” Anand said.
Meanwhile, the airspace over the US’s western state of Montana was temporarily closed on Sunday evening after an alleged “radar anomaly” was detected. However, the fighter aircraft sent to investigate failed to find any unidentified objects
Expand
12 February: UFO Shot Down Over Lake Huron
On 12 February, US military shot down a fourth flying object in just eight days, over Michigan’s Lake Huron, near the Canadian border.
Defence officials quoted by BBC described the object as an unmanned "octagonal structure" with strings attached to it.
US Air Force General Glen VanHerck, who is tasked with safeguarding US airspace, was quoted by Reuters as saying that the military had not been able to identify what the three most recent objects were, their origin or how they stayed aloft.
"We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason. I'll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out,” General Glen VanHerck said.
On Biden’s orders, a US F-16 fighter jet downed the object over Lake Huron, near the Canada border with Canada.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in an official statement that even though the object did not pose a military threat, it could have either interfered with domestic air traffic, since it was traveling at 20,000 feet. Moreover, he pointed out the possibility of survellinece gear being present on the object.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)