The White House says objects shot down by fighter jets could be “benign or commercial” – and there is “no indication” they were Chinese or used for espionage
- Concerns about mysterious objects in American skies grow amid lack of answers
- The White House admitted on Tuesday that it knew little about the last three objects
- John Kirby, a spokesman, said they could turn out to be “commercial” or “benign.”
The White House said again Tuesday officials had not been able to identify three objects shot out of the sky in recent days and they may not have had any hostile intent.
They were spotted in the days after a fighter jet downed a giant balloon suspected of spying for China.
But John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, told reporters that the United States still does not have a clear idea of the provenance of the other three objects.
“We are not aware of any entity or individual claiming to be responsible or own any of these objects,” he said.
“But like I said, one thing we need to consider, and we think the intelligence community will consider that as an explanation, is that these are tied to what they say are commercial or research entities and are therefore completely harmless.”
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the United States still does not fully understand the origin of three objects shot down in recent days
Since February 4, four objects have been shot down, including the Chinese spy balloon, and then three “UFOs” as the US went into panic mode
The analysis was hampered, he said, by the difficulty of recovering debris from hard-to-reach areas — two in the frozen north and one in Lake Huron.
And he said there was no indication the three objects were linked to China’s spy balloon program.
A US fighter jet shot down a Chinese balloon at high altitude off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.
It had spent a week traversing the United States and Canada. China insists it’s not a spy ship.
Since then, jets have been dropped three more times to intercept unidentified intruders.
The result is a deepening diplomatic crisis as Beijing and Washington exchange barbs.
The US has imposed sanctions on six Chinese companies it says are linked to the balloon, an action criticized by Beijing on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken canceled a trip to China amid the excitement, although reports say Beijing’s top diplomat could now be met during the Munich Security Conference.
Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina
US Navy sailors search for debris from the Chinese balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina
A US Navy sailor conducts a search for debris using an underwater vehicle
Timeline of recent UFO sightings over US airspace
Wednesday, February 1: Chinese balloon sighted over Montana (no UFO as Air Force has identified it as a balloon)
Saturday, February 4: A Chinese balloon is shot down off the coast of South Carolina after drifting across country
Thursday, February 9: The first UFO is spotted off the coast of northern Alaska
Friday February 10: UFO shot down over Deadhorse, Alaska
Saturday February 11: Second UFO 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 spotted and shot down over the Great Lakes
Earlier, the White House announced it would assemble a UFO task force to investigate the security risks posed by flying objects detected in US airspace.
The new group, formed under orders from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, will bring together experts from the Pentagon, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies to analyze unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) and determine if they are are a threat.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday “every element of government will redouble efforts to understand and mitigate these events,” adding the task force will assess the “broader policy ramifications” related to the Detection and analysis of UFOs over the mainland examine US.
Meanwhile, Republicans and some Democrats accuse President Joe Biden of keeping them in the dark.
“People are scared, upset and believe crazy things that are being said on the internet about the 3 objects shot down by our military. There are no extraterrestrials and no evidence of them. But there is a lack of transparency from the Biden administration and simple explanations owe it to the people,” Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted Monday.
Sen. Rand Paul tweeted, “As a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, I demand that POTUS and the Department of Defense immediately let us know what they know – and what they don’t.”