WASHINGTON: The US military on Sunday (local time) shot down another high-altitude object over Lake Huron, according to a US official and a congressional source briefed on the matter, reported CNN.
Meanwhile, Democratic-Republican Elissa Slotkin of Michigan tweeted that she had received a call from the Department of Defense saying that the US military “has an extremely close eye” on an object above Lake Huron.
“Just got a call from @DeptofDefense — our military has an extremely close eye on the object above Lake Huron,” Slotkin said in a tweet on Sunday. “We’ll know more about what this was in the coming days, but for now, be assured that all parties have been laser-focused on it from the moment it traversed our waters.”
The operation marks the third day in a row that an unidentified object was shot down over North American airspace. An unidentified object was shot down over northern Canada on Saturday. On Friday, an unidentified object was shot down in Alaska airspace by a US F-22.
And last weekend, a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was taken down by F-22s off the coast of South Carolina.
Moreover, there were reports of Canada closing airspace near Tobermory in Ontario, NOTAM or Notice to Airmen stated that “active air defense operation.”
Earlier, the temporary flight restriction that was in place over Lake Michigan to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) operations has been lifted on Sunday (local time), according to NORAD press release.
“With the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) implemented a temporary flight restriction aiespace over Lake Michigan at approximately 12 pm EST on Feb 12, 2023, to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations. The temporary flight restrictions have since been lifted,” added the release.
The airspace over Lake Michigan was temporarily restricted due to national defense reasons, according to a US Federal Aviation Administration notice.
The notice said the airspace was being restricted for “national defense” reasons. There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon or the FAA.
Meanwhile, Canadian investigators are hunting for the wreckage of the mysterious flying object shot down by a US fighter jet over Yukon territory, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday, as the US Senate’s top lawmaker said that it – and another flying object shot down off the coast of Alaska – both appeared to be balloons.
“Recovery teams are on the ground, looking to find and analyze the object,” Trudeau told reporters. He gave no hint as to what it was but said it “represented a reasonable threat to the security of civilian flight.”
“The security of citizens is our top priority and that’s why I made the decision to have that unidentified object shot down,” he said.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer provided a bit more detail to US broadcaster ABC, saying that American national security officials believe the object destroyed over Canada – as well as another flying object shot over the sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska on Friday – were both balloons.
“They believe they were (balloons), yes, but much smaller than the first one,” Schumer said, referring to the balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday – a big, white, eye-catching inflatable whose trip across the US airspace at the beginning of the month sparked an international incident.
The White House said only that the recently downed objects “did not closely resemble” the Chinese balloon, echoing Schumer’s description of them as “much smaller.”
American officials have accused the Chinese of using the 200-foot-tall (60-meter-high) balloon for surveillance. China’s government has said it was a civilian research vessel that went off course and has condemned its destruction.
US officials have been scouring the ocean to recover debris and electronic gadgetry since the original balloon’s destruction. Schumer said he was confident US investigators would get to the bottom of what it was being used for. (ANI)