As many as four unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have been shot down by Canada and the United States since early February. We only know the origin of the first, a Chinese balloon that American authorities say was used for espionage. what about others We take stock.
No alien visits
The White House officially dismissed the extraterrestrial thesis at a press conference yesterday, but it’s still unknown who owned the last three flying objects shot down by missiles in the US and Canada.
The first object shot down by the US Army on February 4 off the South Carolina coast was a Chinese balloon. According to Army officials, the vehicle, which was “like three buses” in size, was flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 m).
The balloon, which has been hovering over the country for days, is said to be a Chinese spy device, according to US officials. It was first spotted in Alaska on Jan. 28, reportedly flying over “sensitive locations.” China still claims it’s a weather balloon.
Archive photos
The second craft was shot down in Deadhorse, Alaska on February 10. The object, the size of a small car, had neither drive nor steering. It hovered at an altitude of 12,000 m (40,000 feet) and was heading for the North Pole. Because of its altitude, it was at risk of colliding with civilian aircraft, which is why it was shot down, according to US officials.
The third object was shot down in the Yukon by American and Canadian aircraft from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand described the device as a cylindrical object smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down on February 4. It also flew at an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,000 m).
The last known object was shot down over Lake Huron on February 12. The missile was fired by American forces, but the debris fell on the Canadian side of the lake. The octagonal object without a nacelle, with wires hanging from it, flew at an altitude of 6000 m over the state of Michigan. No monitoring devices or sensors were visible on the flying object.
Spy balloons not necessarily
It is still too early to know the nature of the three UFOs with certainty. Debris scavengers learn more and more about their mission, abilities, and origins. However, because they are smaller and flew at low altitude, they are not spy balloons, but simple weather balloons, according to a senior American official interviewed by ABC.
Another hypothesis is that these objects are used to test detection systems in North America, specifically to assess the speed of reaction in the event of a break-in.
If these devices do indeed have a strategic mission, they would most likely have come from “China, Russia, North Korea or Iran,” according to Journal journalist Anne Caroline Desplanques.
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“Only those four could send enemy objects through our airspace,” says the one who has researched threats to Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.
For his part, General Glen VanHerck, head of NORAD, assured that no hypothesis was ruled out, although the objects as such would not pose a threat.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also recalled that the United States has no hesitation in invading its airspace and has sent its own balloons over the country more than a dozen times. White House officials deny these allegations.
Not an entirely new trend
A US government report in January lists 366 “aerospace phenomena” in the country’s skies in 2022. 136 of them are balloons, like weather probes.
A secret report submitted to Congress also reports two incidents in which a foreign power allegedly used “advanced air technology” to patrol American military bases.
So unidentified flying objects are not a new phenomenon. Their more frequent appearance in recent days would be linked to increased surveillance rather than an increase in their actual numbers.
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Incursions by foreign powers into the Arctic are also not new. This is what Anne Caroline Desplanques noticed while working on the documentary The Arctic War.
“What we were able to document during the report is that our skies are wide open on the northern border. Our radars can’t see what’s happening there,” she warns.
Raids similar to that of the Chinese balloon have likely taken place without alerting NORAD, raising fears of security breaches in Canada and the United States.
“Right now it’s just a balloon that’s harmless, that’s not armed, there’s no direct threat to civilians. But what will it be next time? The future will show us,” adds the journalist.