SKY ALERT
UFO panic is sweeping the US after three unknown objects were blasted out of the sky in 72 hours.
Pentagon officials have swung into action over the last week after the flight of a gigantic Chinese spy balloon over the US.
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Since the enormous blimp was blasted out of the sky on February 4, three more "objects" have since been downed by fighter planes.
Strange accounts have been given by the fighter pilots, including reports the objects interfered with their sensors and had no recognizable propulsion.
The mystery is deepening as limited information has been released on the shootdowns - with China also playing dumb and denying any knowledge.
And to muddy the waters further, Beijing claimed it had detected and was preparing to shoot down its own mystery object on Sunday.
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China said the object had been flying close to a base for their nuke submarines.
The objects right now can be considered "UFOs" - as they remain in all sense of the term unidentified.
US Air Force General Glen VanHerck gave cryptic responses to reporters' questions - refusing to rule out anything, including aliens.
He said they did not know what the objects were - or how they stay aloft in the sky.
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"We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason," the general, who is the head of North American Aerospace Defense Command, said.
"I'll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out."
But while his comments on potential extraterrestrial origins caused a stir, defense officials have since downplayed the possibilities the objects could be alien.
The military has not seen any evidence that the objects were extraterrestrial, a defense official told Reuters.
UFO Timeline
- January 28 - Massive Chinese spy balloon the size of three buses is spotted flying over the US
- February 2 - Another Chinese balloon is detected flying over Costa Rica - it is not believed to have been shot down
- February 4 - US fighter jets shoot down the first spy balloon off coast of South Carolina
- February 9 - Unknown object the size of a car seen flying over Alaska
- February 10 - Fighter jets shoot down Alaska object - some pilots report it interfered with their sensors
- February 11 - Canada confirms another "cylindrical" object shot down by US planes over Yukon
- February 11 - "Octagonal" object spotted flying over Montana after first being dismissed as a radar glitch
- February 12 - US fighter planes shoot down the Montana object over Lake Huron
- February 12 - China claims it detected an unknown object over the Yellow Sea and near to nuke sub base
The latest shoot-down occurred after the object was first detected on February 11.
It was initially dismissed as a radar glitch, before then being detected again after going near sensitive military sites.
The US scrambled an F-16 fighter plane which blasted the object out of the sky at 20,000 feet over Lake Huron, Michigan.
The object was described as "an octagonal structure with strings hanging off but no discernible payload."
"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 [defense] sites," said a statement from Norad.
"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."
It comes just one day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed another "object" was shot by US officials over Canada.
A US F-22 shot down the object using an AIM 9X missile, the Department of Defense said.
The PM said on Saturday they are working to recover the object and that Canadian officials will take over the investigation.
And on Friday another object zooming at a 40,000-foot elevation was shot down over Alaska per the orders of Biden after it was deemed "a reasonable threat."
An F-22 aircraft shot it down with a Sidewinder missile after it entered Alaskan airspace, scattering its remains across the frozen sea.
US troops along with the Alaska National Guard said they were still searching for the object on sea ice following the shootdown.
And then the Alaska object has caused further mystery, with pilots reportedly unable to identify what they saw, according to CNN.
F-35 pilots reported the object was "interfering with the sensors of their aircraft."
While all incidents were confirmed by officials, agencies have yet to provide clear answers on the nature of the UFOs.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently said the objects are likely "meteorological balloons," but this has yet to be confirmed, ABC reports.
Department of Defense chief Melissa Dalton said the US government is "more closely scrutinizing our airspace" after the remotely controlled device breezed across North America, Politico reports.
"We also know that a range of entities including countries, companies, resource organizations, operate objects at these altitudes for purposes that are not nefarious, including legitimate research," she said.
However, the DoD would not say the shootdowns were at balloons as officials clarify they were "objects."
"Certainly the event off the South Carolina coast, the Chinese spy balloon, that was clearly a balloon," said North American Aerospace Defense Command General Glen VanHerck Sunday night.
"These are objects. I'm not able to categorize how they stay aloft."
All three incidents began with officials noticing a blip on radar and sending a fighter pilot to investigate.
The pilots were then ordered to shoot down the object.
A physical description of each object was given by pilots, but a full identification could not be provided, a senior defense official told FOX.
Schumer said that the analysis from American national security officials led them to believe that the previous three objects shot down were balloons, but it's unclear if the fourth object matches this analysis.
He also said there is an increased urgency for Congress to find out what is happening with what appears to be a previously unknown surveillance program by the Chinese, based on the first balloon shot down on February 4.
Some government officials believe these objects were part of a balloon program that had existed during President Donald Trump's administration, which went unknown until a few months ago.
"I think our military, our intelligence is doing a great job, present and future, I feel a lot of confidence in what they are doing," Schumer said.
"But why as far back as the Trump administration did no one know about this?"
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Officials reportedly still have yet to determine who launched all four objects and for what purpose.
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