US Believes Flying Objects Shot Down Over Past Few Days Were Balloons
According to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the US believes that the mysterious objects shot down above North American airspace on Friday and Saturday were balloons.
Since the military destroyed a suspected Chinese spy balloon last weekend, Washington has been on high alert.
Mr. Schumer told ABC on Sunday that Beijing was likely utilizing a “crew of balloons” that had “probably traveled all over the world,” though he did not expressly state that the most recent objects were Chinese.
Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, stated that the most recent object was destroyed on Saturday over the Yukon region of western Canada.
The item, which Mr. Trudeau claimed “violated Canadian airspace,” was tracked down by both Canadian and US planes, and it was destroyed by an American F-22 fighter jet.
On Saturday, Mr. Trudeau declared that he had given the order and spoken with US Vice President Joe Biden.
He stated on Twitter that “Canadian military will now recover and analyze the object’s wreckage.”
Over North America, three objects have been shot down in total over the past week.
Last weekend, the American military shot down a Chinese balloon, and on Friday, a small car-sized object was shot down off the coast of Alaska.
China claims the balloon, which first entered US airspace on January 28, was a weather gadget that went awry and not employed for snooping.
According to defence minister Anita Anand, the most recent object was captured at approximately 15:41 local time on Saturday while flying over central Yukon at a height of about 40,000 feet (12,000 meters).
She called it “tiny” and “cylindrical,” but added that recovery attempts are still ongoing in order to learn more.
It was destroyed “around 100 miles” from the US border, according to Ms. Anand, who also stated it presented a “reasonable hazard to civil aviation.”
It “appears to be smaller than the one shot down off the coast of South Carolina,” she claimed, referring to the massive Chinese suspected spy balloon that stood 200 feet (60 meters) tall and was shot down last Saturday.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which manages air defense for the US and Canada and oversaw the mission, received praise from Prime Minister Trudeau earlier on Twitter.
The item had been followed and watched, according to the White House, “for the last 24 hours.”
President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau gave their approval for it to be taken down “out of an abundance of caution and at the suggestion of their militaries,” it stated.
“The leaders talked about how crucial it was to get the artefact back in order to learn more about its function or origin.”
The US Department of Defense provided additional information regarding the mission to shoot down the item, confirming that two F-22 jets took off from a military base in Anchorage, Alaska, and the object was destroyed using an AIM 9X missile.
According to Brig Gen Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, the FBI will “operate closely” with Canadian police.
Separately, the US military scrambled fighter fighters over Montana on Saturday due to the closure of some airspace, but it turned out to be a “radar anomaly” and nothing odd was discovered.
The military issued a brief statement stating that search and recovery operations for Friday’s object were still being carried out on sea ice by US forces, including members of the Alaska National Guard.
While confirming that the FBI is assisting with the recovery efforts close to the Alaskan hamlet of Deadhorse, it stated at the time that it had no further information regarding the object’s capabilities, purpose, or origin.
The rescue operation will continue as long as the weather permits. “Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a consideration in this operation, and staff will alter recovery activities to protect safety,” it stated.
Defense sources told the US media over the weekend that the Chinese balloon’s debris had landed in shallower water than they had anticipated: 47 feet (14 meters) of water near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
China claims the balloon, which first entered US airspace on January 28, was a weather gadget that went awry and not employed for snooping.
The balloon is a part of a series of surveillance balloons that have flown over five continents, according to the US, who disagreed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing as a result of the balloon incident, which has soured US-China relations.
On Friday, Chinese officials charged the US with “political manipulation and propaganda.”
President Biden defended his handling of the Chinese balloon in an interview on Thursday, insisting that it was not “a serious transgression.”
