[News] What is known about the unidentified flying objects shot down by the United States in recent days

[Akrapovic]

US ships and divers continue to search for remains of the downed balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

 

 

In recent weeks, the US military has shot down four unidentified objects flying over the skies over North America, sparking growing concern in Washington.

One senator even described the events as "nothing short of crazy."

This Monday, the spokesman for the US Department of Defense, John Kirby, had to clarify that "there are no indications that it is extraterrestrial activity."

He also highlighted the differences between the first Chinese object - which Beijing recognized as one of its weather balloons and denied it was a spy device - and the three smaller ones that were shot down later, whose origin is unknown.

Kirby specified that the first was being "clearly controlled and maneuvered", while the other three lacked propulsion systems and moved with the wind in a less predictable manner.

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He also clarified that the latter do not necessarily have to be spy balloons "as the first was," according to the US authorities.

And he justified his shooting down by considering them a potential threat to civilian air traffic by flying at an altitude similar to that of many planes.

In any case, there are still many unanswered questions. This is what we know and what we don't know yet.

How it all started
A large, high-altitude object was seen on January 28 as it passed over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, an archipelago in the North Pacific Ocean between the US and Russia.

It was then tracked as it entered Canadian airspace before emerging over the western US state of Montana.

On February 1, public attention was first drawn to the high-flying object after shocked residents of the city of Billings, which had already closed its local airport, took pictures of the object.

Montana, a sparsely po[CENSORED]ted state, is home to one of three nuclear missile silo fields in the country, and authorities said the object was a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that appeared to be monitoring sensitive sites in the region.

Authorities noted that the object was over 60m tall and was equipped with multiple antennas, solar panels and surveillance equipment capable of intercepting telecommunications.

But officials initially refused to shoot it down due to concerns about the damage falling debris could cause, so it was allowed to drift overhead across the continental US for days.

The alleged Chinese spy balloon sighted over the city of Billings, Montana
PICTURE SOURCE REUTERS
Caption,
The alleged Chinese spy balloon sighted over the city of Billings, Montana.

On February 4, President Joe Biden authorized it to be shot down by an F-22 jet off the coast of South Carolina.

Recovery teams have collected some debris and are using boats and mini-submarines to be able to retrieve more equipment from the balloon, which is submerged approximately 14m under water.

China denied that the balloon was used for spying, saying it was a weather-monitoring device that went astray.

The destruction of the balloon "seriously violated international practice," Beijing said, adding that it reserved the right "to use the necessary means to deal with similar situations."

He also accused the United States of having operated balloons of this type over Chinese territory, something the White House has flatly denied.

Kirby also claimed Monday that the first balloon was likely used to monitor sensitive military sites.

He assured that it will take time to completely recover the remains of this object for meteorological and security reasons.

At the moment, only a part of the entire load of the balloon sunk at the bottom of the Atlantic has been recovered. The Defense spokesman specified that it is about 13 meters deep and that the weather conditions are "quite harsh" on the east coast of the United States. States, reason why the divers could not work this Monday.

 

link: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-64627080