Once again, the Luftwaffe retrieves an unknown object from the sky. Since the alleged spy balloon, Washington has been examining US airspace more closely.
As the Pentagon announced, the US military had previously observed the object for almost a day Photo: app
WASHINGTON afp | The United States shot down another unidentified flying object near the border with Canada on Sunday. US President Joe Biden ordered the shooting down over Lake Huron as a precautionary measure, a government official said.
The object was not classified as a military threat, but as a threat to civilian aircraft. It was the third suspected object to be taken from the sky by US fighter jets in just a few days.
The object shot down over Lake Huron, described by the government official as an octagonal structure with strings hanging from it, was flying at an altitude of 6,000 meters above the state of Michigan in the northeastern United States and was therefore classified as a hazard to civilian air traffic.
The US military had previously observed the object for almost a day, the Pentagon said. It was then launched over Lake Huron “to avoid impacting people on the ground while increasing the chances of debris recovery.”
Modified radar
On Friday, the US military shot down an unidentified flying object over the state of Alaska. Another object was destroyed in a joint operation by Canadian and US warplanes over Canada’s Yukon Territory on Saturday.
The Pentagon said on Sunday it was still unclear exactly what the three objects were. US Northern Command commander Glen VanHerck said the objects were “very, very small”. He would not describe the shape or size of the objects, but said they were moving very slowly, about the speed of the wind.
According to Deputy Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton, the objects shot down since Friday were discovered because, after the launch of a suspected Chinese spy balloon around ten days ago, radar settings were changed to look for smaller and slower objects.
salvage continues
Since the balloon was launched, US airspace at the altitude in question has been checked more closely, Dalton said. That could “at least partially explain the increase in objects that we have discovered in the past week”. Dalton pointed out that flying objects at such altitudes are also operated by research institutes and private companies.
The day-long overflight of the Chinese balloon over the United States had led to a scandal between Washington and Beijing. The US fighter jet finally shot down the balloon on the US east coast over the Atlantic. Washington said on Wednesday that the downed balloon was one of a fleet of spy balloons that flew across five continents.
After discovering the balloon, China denied the allegation of espionage. Instead, Beijing spoke of a civil balloon for meteorological purposes that had gone off course. US officials have meanwhile firmly rejected this account several times and affirmed that it was a question of a spy balloon.
On Sunday, Dalton confirmed initial “contacts” with China over the balloon. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin unsuccessfully asked for a meeting with the Chinese Defense Minister after the conclusion. However, Beijing declined a call, complaining of Washington’s “irresponsible” approach.
The operations to recover the balloon and the three other downed objects continued, according to Dalton on Sunday. The search in Alaska near the town of Deadhorse was difficult given the cold, snow and darkness in the northernmost US state. Rescuers searching for debris in Canada’s Yukon were assisted by a Canadian CP-140 patrol aircraft.
The recovery of the debris from the suspected spy balloon off the coast of the state of South Carolina is still ongoing. The United States hopes that the investigation of the debris will provide further insights into the Chinese approach.
