President Joe Biden ordered an F-16 fighter jet to shoot down another airborne object over Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon, the Pentagon reported. According to press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the object was not deemed a military threat, but rather a flight hazard saying, “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.” An administration official told CNN on Sunday that the object flew at 20,000 feet over Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. According to the official and another source briefed on the issue, it was “octagonal” with strings hanging off and no discernible payload. After the takedown, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she has been in touch with the federal government.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Melissa Dalton echoed that sentiment Sunday night, telling reporters that the objects had been removed due to “an abundance of caution.” Dalton told reporters, “In light of the People’s Republic of China balloon that we took down last Saturday, we have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase in objects that we detected over the past week.” Dalton also added that, high-altitude objects can be used by companies, countries, and research organizations for legitimate purposes as well as for nefarious purposes.
This is the third time in a row that an unidentified object has been shot down over North American airspace. On Saturday, a US F-22 shot down an unidentified object over northern Canada, while on Friday, another object was shot down in Alaska airspace. Sounds super suspicious. What do you think these unidentified flying objects could be?