Guwahati: US military fighter jets destroyed an octagonal object over Lake Huron on Sunday. This is the most recent incident since North American security forces were put on high alert following a report of a Chinese surveillance balloon.
It was the fourth manned aircraft that a US missile had shot down over North America in a little more than a week.
General Glen VanHerck of the US Air Force who is in charge of defending US airspace stated that the military has not been able to determine the precise nature and location of the three most recent items.
Head of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Northern Command VanHerck said, “We’re calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason.”
“I’ll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out,” he further added.
Speaking on the circumstance another defence officer claimed that there was no proof of extraterrestrial origin for the objects in question.
According to a statement released by the Pentagon, President Joe Biden gave the order for a U.S. F-16 fighter to shoot down the object at 2:42 p.m. local time over Lake Huron near the U.S.-Canada border.
Despite not posing a military threat, Ryder noted that the object’s 20,000-foot (6,100-meter) altitude and probable monitoring capabilities could have interfered with domestic air traffic.
The object seemed to be octagonal in shape with strings falling off but no obvious cargo, according to another officer.
The item was thought to be the same as one that was recently discovered over Montana near secret military installations which forced the shutdown of American airspace.
The event also increased relations with China and sparked concerns about the current rash of strange objects that have been spotted over North American skies.
U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell said, “We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing.”