- A third unknown aerial object was shot down over the Great Lakes on Sunday
- Authorities are not ruling out that the three most recent objects could be aliens
- They are not calling them balloons – because they are still not sure what they are
By CLAUDIA AORAHA, SENIOR REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and DAVID AVERRE
PUBLISHED: 08:05 AEDT, 13 February 2023 | UPDATED: 03:31 AEDT, 14 February 2023
The Pentagon has refused to rule out the possibility that a slew of unidentified objects shot out of the sky in recent days could be linked to extraterrestrials.
A US fighter jet shot down an ‘unidentified object’ over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the third such downing in three days, and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over U.S. airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.
US Air Force General Glen VanHerck said intelligence services were exploring all avenues – including the notion the three most recent objects could be linked to extraterrestrials.
‘I’ll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I haven’t ruled out anything,’ VanHerck said. ‘At this point we continue to assess every threat or potential threat, unknown, that approaches North America with an attempt to identify it.’
The object detected Sunday was described by defense officials as an unmanned ‘octagonal structure’ with ‘potential surveillance capabilities’ and strings attached to it.
An F-16 fighter jet shot it down from around 20,000ft over the Great Lakes at 2:42pm – after two other crafts were destroyed over Alaska and Canada on Friday and Saturday.
A Chinese balloon was shot down on February 4 over South Carolina, meaning the US air force has now downed four objects in just eight days.
This is the image of the 148th Fighter Wing F-16C that shot down the unidentified object over Lake Heron on Sunday. The missile is circled. The fighter jet is pictured landing back at Madison missing an AIM-9X
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VanHerck said that, unlike the Chinese spy balloon, all three UFOs gunned down over the weekend were of a similar size and speed.
Timeline of recent UFO sightings over US airspace
Wednesday, February 1: Chinese balloon is spotted above Montana (this is not being referred to as a UFO as it was identified as a balloon)
Saturday, February 4: Chinese balloon is shot down off the coast of South Carolina after having drifted across the country
Thursday, February 9: First UFO is detected off coast of northern Alaska
Friday, February 10: UFO is shot down over Deadhorse, Alaska
Saturday, February 11: Second UFO is shot down over Mayo, Yukon, Canada.
FAA shuts down airspace over Montana citing another possible UFO, but NORAD claims it was a ‘radar anomaly’
Sunday, February 12: Third UFO is detected over the Great Lakes and shot down
He added that the since the Chinese balloon was found in late January, the US adjusted its radar so it could track slower objects. He explained that this radar adjustment, plus the heightened state of alert following the Chinese balloon, explains the frequency of UFO sightings.
‘With some adjustments, we’ve been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now,’ he said, ‘and that’s why I think you’re seeing these, plus there’s a heightened alert to look for this information.’
But this gave way to concerns the US air force may have missed untold numbers of UFOs in the past.
US Senator Marco Rubio tweeted: ‘The last 72 hours revealed to the public what was happening for years, unidentified aircraft routinely operating over restricted US airspace.
‘This is why I pushed to take this seriously and created a permanent UAP task force two years ago.’
Christopher Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, said: ‘The USAF *really* has some explaining to do when it comes to UAP. People who are surprised at the presence of these objects haven’t been paying attention.
‘One of the reasons why I’ve been calling for changes to our sensor and reporting procedures for years.’
VanMerck said the air force is still unsure how the three objects were staying aloft, as they currently have unknown propulsion systems. He added: ‘We’re calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason.’
He added: ‘I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object.’
As the Pentagon more closely scrutinizes US airspace, authorities are not ruling out that there may be more sightings and shoot-downs in the coming days.
Speaking about the most recent object shot down on Sunday, a Department of Defense spokesperson said: ‘Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites.
‘We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more.’
US Senator Marco Rubio and former defense and intelligence official Christopher Mellon criticized the US air force and radar procedures, claiming untold numbers of UFOs may have been operating in US airspace unbeknownst to authorities
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US Air Force General Glen VanHerck said they are still unsure how the three objects were staying aloft, as they currently have unknown propulsion systems
The object on Sunday was shot down because of the increased ‘abundance of caution.’ It has not yet been identified.
A spokesperson said on Sunday night: ‘We will remain vigilant. The operations in the last week have been successful in taking down the potential threats.’
The Pentagon added: ‘Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation. The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery.
‘There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected.’
The revelation that the air force is not ruling out that this could be extraterrestrial comes after a report in December revealed The Department of Defense has analyzed ‘hundreds’ of UFO sightings from its service members since last year.
Some of objects flying in ways they don’t yet understand, and some in space and underwater, officials revealed.
The head of the government’s UFO office Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick revealed that they had received reports from intelligence and military officers and other agencies of unidentified objects not only in the air, but also underwater and even in space – and emphasized the DoD’s cooperation with NASA in trying to identify UFOs.
Rep. Jack Bergman, of Michigan, tweeted Sunday afternoon that he had been in contact with his colleagues at the Department of Defense following reports of an unidentified aircraft making its way across the Great Lakes.
Around 3.30pm, he revealed: ‘The US military has decommissioned another ‘object’ over Lake Huron.’
The announcement marks the object shot down by the American military over the weekend, after one was shot down over Alaska on Friday and another was shot down in Canada on Saturday.
Democrat Debbie Dingell – from Michigan where Sunday’s UFO was downed – said: ‘We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing.’
Meanwhile, GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale has insisted that there is another mysterious flying object in the skies above Montana, where air space was closed Sunday afternoon.
HOW WERE RADAR SYSTEMS USED TO SPOT THE UFO?
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has spotted a Chinese balloon and three UFOs in the last month using its radar systems.
Officials said that the increased number of hits could be the result of recent changes made to the way analysts are interpreting radar information.
Certain filters have been removed which would normally limit the amount of raw data collected, and simplify the process.
This is making the radar systems more sensitive so they can pick up harder-to-detect objects.
But it also makes it harder to distinguish between actual UFOs and background noise.
However, this does not mean that NORAD has ruled out deliberate action from an adversary.
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