Map showing approximate locations of UAPs across North America in January/February 2023Google Maps
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US fighter jets shot down an object threatening the airspace over Alaska yesterday.
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F-22 pilots who saw the object said that it “interfered with their sensors” and that they did not have a propulsion system.
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On Saturday, another unidentified object described as “cylindrical” was shot down over Canada.
A week after shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon floating over the country, F-22 jets on Friday shot down an unidentified object flying over Alaska. Reports provide conflicting details about the object’s capabilities and origins, and US intelligence officials have released limited information about its design or intended purpose.
Recently, unidentified anomalous phenomena have been seen floating over not only the United States, but Canada, Colombia, and Costa Rica.
It’s been an extraordinary week for UAPs in North America
In addition to the first surveillance balloon seen over the country since January 31, a second balloon was spotted floating over Latin America on February 4, while another unidentified object was shot down over Canada on Saturday.
The airspace over Montana was also briefly restricted on Saturday after reports of radar anomalies in the area, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement. TwitterBut after investigation nothing else was found.
US officials say China has a global campaign of surveillance balloons collecting data over military bases, including one that was shot down last week, but the object shot down on Friday has been linked to Chinese officials – or someone else Not confirmed to exist.
Here’s what we know about the object that was shot down on Friday.
The object was at such an altitude over Alaska that it conflicted with commercial flights.
“I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high-altitude object in Alaskan airspace over the past 24 hours,” John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters on Friday. “The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and was a reasonable threat to the safety of civil flight.”
According to the Pentagon, the balloon floating above the country was hovering at about 60,000 feet last week — well outside the normal cruising altitude of commercial aircraft, which normally operate between 33,000 and 42,000 feet.
We do not know the origin of the items dropped on Friday or Saturday
Kirby said authorities first became aware of the object on Thursday night, but could not confirm its origin even after it was shot down: “We don’t know who owns it, whether it’s state-owned.” Whether it’s corporate owned or privately owned. We just don’t know.”
Michael P. Mulroy, a former Pentagon official, told the New York Times, “If this was another Chinese spy balloon, it indicates that China is either incapable of operating these platforms or potentially intentionally provoked the US.” Used to be.” “During times like these it is also important for the US and China to maintain direct communication. Especially between militaries.”
Officials confirmed the origin of last week’s Chinese surveillance balloon two days after the first sighting. Chinese officials have acknowledged that the first balloon came from their country, but maintained that it was a civilian airship used primarily for “meteorological research”.
China has not made any claims regarding the objects dropped in Canada and Alaska.
“We’re calling it an object because it’s the best description we have right now,” Kirby said.
There may be living evidence in the wreckage
Officials are working to recover debris from the unidentified object that was shot down on Friday, which landed on frozen water off the Alaskan coast near the Canadian border. CBS News reported that the object was downed near Prudhoe Bay.
The object shot down on Saturday was seen in the Yukon Territory of northern Canada. Reuters reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian officials would recover and analyze the wreckage.
The Yukon High-altitude object was described by Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand as cylindrical in shape, Reuters reported, although no other details have yet been released. It is not clear whether the object dropped off the Alaskan coast was of the same size or shape.
NORAD and US Northern Command commander Gen. Glenn VanHerk told reporters Monday that the first balloon was shot down in a debris field “15 football fields by 15 football fields” with a depth of about 50 feet in the Atlantic Ocean. He said the balloon was about 200 feet long with a payload the size of a “jet airliner” and estimated it to weigh a few thousand pounds.
During Red Flag 16-1, February 5, 2016, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. An F-22 Raptor from Nellis AFB flies over the nave. Twelve Tyndall F-22s participated in Red Flag 16-1, a joint-training, full-spectrum readiness exercise designed to provide the most realistic combat training possible. US Air Force
conflicting reports from pilots
Before the object was shot down, Kirby told reporters, the pilots of the F-22 jet that shot it down circled it and determined that it was unmanned and had the ability to maneuver in the air and move like previous balloons. lacked the ability to convert.
He did not share additional details about the object.
While official government sources are quiet on the object, others are sharing reports of pilots tracking it.
“Some of the F-22 pilots who tracked the plane, which was downed in Alaska yesterday, said it ‘interfered with their sensors’ and ‘they could see no propulsion system on the plane, it Don’t know how it can possibly stay in the air.’” According to Public military and intelligence scanner, open source intelligence monitor.
OSIM reported that some pilots did not experience interference with their systems and could not agree on a description of the object.
The open source intelligence monitor did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
CNN reported an unnamed source with knowledge of the briefing said that the pilots shared conflicting comments about the object, including that it interfered with their systems and that they could not tell How did it stay in the air?
Unknown anomalous phenomena are visible in more places than the sky
In December, the Defense Department established the All Domain Anomaly Resolution Office to identify “unidentified anomalous phenomena” — in space, in the air, on land, or at sea — that could pose a threat to national security. The term UAP replaces the traditional “unidentified flying object” or UFO designation, as officials expect to evaluate anomalies “in all domains”.
While it is not clear whether unidentified terrestrial objects have been seen recently, former Navy pilots David Fraver and Alex Dietrich told CBS News in 2021 about an encounter with an unidentified object while conducting pre-deployment training in 2004. told.
The pair described flying their plane over the ocean, and seeing an area of white water on the surface below. Just above the whitewater was a “white tic tac looking” object that had “no predictable trajectory.”
“It was unknown,” Dietrich said. “And that’s why it was so puzzling to us. Because we weren’t expecting it. We couldn’t classify it.”
Footage released by the Pentagon in 2020 also revealed unidentified objects drifting across the surface of the ocean that were seen by Navy pilots.
“Dude, that’s a f–king drone, bro,” CBS News said of one of the pilots in the video. Another person says, “They have a whole fleet.”
“They’re all going against the wind,” said the first pilot. “The wind’s 120 knots to the west. Look at that thing, buddy! It’s moving!”
A 2021 report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stated, “In 18 incidents, described in 21 reports, observers reported unusual UAP movement patterns or flight characteristics. Some UAPs remained stationary in the wind, moving against the wind.” , appeared to maneuver. move suddenly, or at considerable speed, without direct means of propulsion. In some cases, military aircraft systems processed the radio frequency (RF) energy associated with UAP sightings.
The 2022 report stated that, of the 171 unintended incidents, “some of these unintended UAPs demonstrated abnormal flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis.”
Representatives for the Pentagon and US Northern Command did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Officials have acknowledged that surveillance balloons have been seen floating in US airspace several times over the years, although they have not always been immediately identified – three devices seen during the Trump administration were initially classified as UFOs. Was.
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