On the 12th (local time), the US shot down another unidentified aircraft that invaded its airspace. It is the fourth consecutive shooting down of an unidentified flying object that appeared over North America for three days in a row, including a Chinese reconnaissance balloon on the 4th.
The Pentagon said on the same day, “According to the instructions of President Joe Biden, an F-16 fighter shot down a flying object at 20,000 feet (about 6 km) above Lake Huron, Michigan.” It was linked to a radar signal from an object heading to a military base in Montana.” The previous day, the U.S. military detected an object flying toward Montana, where the nuclear base is located, with radar and temporarily closed the airspace.
The aircraft shot down on the 12th was in the shape of an octagon with a thread attached to the bottom, but other devices were not identified, the Ministry of National Defense said. Earlier, on the 4th, the US shot down a Chinese reconnaissance balloon that had crossed the continental United States from the sky over the South Carolina coast, and on the 10th and 11th, it shot down an unidentified flying object in Alaska and Yukon, Canada.
Suspicion is growing in the United States over an unidentified aircraft that invaded airspace for three days in a row following a Chinese reconnaissance balloon. When asked about the possibility that these vehicles came from outer space, Commander Glenn VanHuck of the North American Air Defense Command said at a briefing, “I’m not ruling anything out at this point.” However, another Pentagon official dismissed it, saying to Reuters, “There is no evidence that this object came from outer space.”
Experts place weight on the fact that China, Russia, and others are testing the U.S. surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. The U.S. military has also stepped up surveillance of small, slow-flying objects caught on radar networks after the Chinese reconnaissance balloon was spotted. The New York Times (NYT) quoted a senior Biden administration official on the day and said, “There is an opinion that China and Russia sent these objects to test how quickly the United States recognizes and responds to airspace intrusions.” Senate Democratic Party leader Chuck Schumer said on ABC about the two unidentified aircraft shot down in succession, saying, “We have received a report from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan,” and “(The White House) believes it to be a balloon.”
Tensions between the US and China are also rising. The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet announced on the same day that the Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the Marine Corps amphibious force had started training in the South China Sea the day before. Chinese media outlets such as Jimu Newspaper and Pengpai reported on the 13th that China, which has been on the defensive with reconnaissance balloons, is planning to capture and shoot down an unidentified aircraft in the sea near the Shandong Peninsula. In Qingdao on the Shandong Peninsula, there is a naval base in Zhanggezhuang, where nuclear submarines and the aircraft carrier Liaoning are anchored. The Chinese military announced that it will also conduct live ammunition training in the West Sea near the Liaodong Peninsula from the same day to the 17th.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.