The United States and Canada are investigating the three unidentified flying objects shot down over North America airspace in the past three days.
The White House Defended the shootdowns of three unidentified objects Even as it acknowledged that officials had no indication the objects were intended for surveillance.
The three objects, including one shot down Sunday over Lake Huron, were unmanned and traveling at such a low altitude as to pose a risk to civilian commercial air traffic, said White House national security spokesman John Kirby. “These were decisions based purely and simply on what was in the best interests of the American people,” Kirby said of the action to shoot them down. “Because we have not been able to definitively assess what these most recent objects are, we acted out of an abundance of caution to protect our security, our interests and flight safety,” he said.
Kirby also said that the three objects did not have people inside and did not have maneuvering or propulsion capabilities. There is no indication that people on the ground were in danger, he added.
Timeline of UFOs shot down this week
The U.S. military has shot down at least three unidentified flying objects over the weekend after a Chinese spy balloon that had invaded American airspace was downed on February 4.
Feb. 10 – Unidentified object shot down off Alaska
On Friday, a U.S. fighter jet brought down an unidentified object over the waters of Alaska. The object broke into pieces after being shot down and was most likely not a balloon, a Defense Department official said. A White House official said the object was the size of a small car.
Feb. 11 – UFO shot down over Canada
An American F-22 fighter downed another object on Saturday over the Yukon Territory, which borders Alaska. The object, which a Canadian official described as cylindrical and smaller than the spy balloon, was picked up on radar late Friday as it passed over Alaska. It was unclear what the object was, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada said it had violated Canadian airspace. It was headed toward the North Pole before it was struck down.
Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said the F-22 shot down the object over Canadian territory using the same Sidewinder air-to-air missile that was used to take down two previous flying objects.
Feb. 12 – Another object shot down over Lake Huron
Another object that first appeared over Montana on Saturday reappeared on Sunday before being shot down over Lake Huron off Michigan. U.S. officials said that the object was flying at 20,000 feet and had an octagonal structure with strings hanging off but had no discernible payload.
Also on February 12, Chinese media reported a similar unidentified object over its skies in Rizhao, in the Shandong province of China. Media reports indicated that Chinese officials also planned to shoot to down.
U.S. rules out extraterrestrials in object shootdowns
The White House said on Monday there was no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity after the United States shot down a series of unidentified objects. “I know there have been questions and concerns about this, but there is no, again no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The White House’s denial marks came after a U.S. Air Force general said he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts.
What we know about the unidentified objects
- U.S. officials said the objects over Alaska and the Yukon were smaller than the spy balloon taken down over the Atlantic the previous weekend.
- Yukon object was cylindrical.
- The object over Michigan had an octagonal structure with strings hanging off.
- Each of the three crafts was the size of a small car and was floating on prevailing winds.
