A U.S. fighter jet on Sunday shot down an unidentified object flying over Lake Huron in Michigan on the orders of President Joe Biden, the Defense Department said, citing a potential hazard to civil aviation.
It was the fourth flying object downed by the U.S. military over North American airspace this month. The stepped-up air defense activity began when a suspected Chinese balloon started traversing the continental United States late last month. It was shot down on Feb. 4 off the coast of South Carolina.
It is also the third day in a row that the U.S. military has shot down an unidentified object, an unusual development in peacetime.
Compared with the huge Chinese balloon, which was equipped with multiple antennas and solar panels and could independently maneuver, the three other objects were smaller and similar in that they all traveled at wind speed, U.S. officials suggested.
The fourth object, flying at an altitude of about 6 kilometers, was reportedly an octagonal structure with strings hanging off it.
It was downed at 2:42 p.m. by an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile fired from an F-16 fighter, according to Pat Ryder, the department's press secretary.
Ryder said in a statement that the object was detected by the North American Aerospace Defense Command in the morning and that the location used for the downing was chosen to avoid affecting people on the ground and to raise the chances of recovering debris.
The Pentagon said the object, based on its flight path, likely traveled over Montana near "sensitive" military sites and had potential surveillance capabilities, although it did not pose a military threat.
On Saturday, an unidentified flying object that entered the territorial airspace of Canada was shot down by a U.S. F-22 fighter jet belonging to the defense command operated by the two countries.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand described it as "a small cylindrical object" flying at an altitude of around 12 km. It was destroyed over the country's Yukon territory.
A day earlier, another flying object was downed over Alaska.
The origin of the three objects shot down after the Chinese balloon remains unknown. Beijing has insisted its balloon was a civilian airship for weather research.
Asked whether the three objects belonged to China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press conference Monday, "irresponsible remarks should not be made without clear evidence."
Wang also said U.S. high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China's airspace more than 10 times since last year. He added Beijing responded to the incidents in a "responsible and professional" manner without providing further details.
"The United States should first reflect upon itself and change course instead of smearing other countries and fanning confrontation," Wang said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby on Monday flatly rejected the Chinese claim, saying it is "just absolutely not true."
"We are not flying balloons over China," Kirby said in an interview with MSNBC.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who was briefed by Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan, said Sunday that U.S. officials believe the objects shot down over Alaska and Canada in the previous two days were balloons but that they were "much smaller" than the Chinese one, estimated to have been the size of three buses.
Meanwhile, Chinese media reported Sunday that the marine development bureau of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province has alerted fishing boats operating in waters off the Shandong Peninsula about an unidentified flying object, saying relevant authorities were preparing to shoot it down.
If the object, spotted some 60 km south of the peninsula, falls nearby after being downed, fishing boat personnel were asked to take pictures of the debris. Qingdao hosts a naval base of the Chinese military's Northern Theater Command.
So far, no official announcements have been made about the downing of the unidentified object. There has been speculation on social media that the United States may have dispatched it for reconnaissance or that China may have sent the object.
Related coverage:
U.S. jet shoots down unidentified flying object over Canada: PM
U.S. military downs unknown object over Alaska
Chinese military unit involved in balloon operation: sources
