Madison based US fighter jets shot down an unidentified flying object over Lake Huron after the airspace over Lake Michigan was closed on Sunday by the Federal Aviation Administration and NORAD. This is the third object shot down in three days and fourth since downing a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on 4th February 2023.
According to Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, The Pentagon press secretary, the jet F-16 shot down the object at the direction of President Joe Biden. An AIM 9X sidewinder missile was fired by the pilot; it is the same weapon which is used in the previous instances.
The object was flying at the height of 20,000 feet over the lake. It was at the altitude where it can be a hazard for civilians but by shooting it down over the lake there was no injured people and damaged properties until now reported.
Ryder said “We did not assess it to be kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities,” This statement by Ryder somewhere indicating the possibility that it is another spy balloon.
There is one possibility that all these unidentified objects in the air are because of closer scrutiny of airspace after that Chinese spy balloon was shot down on February 4. This statement is said by Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs on Sunday night. It is guessed that the last three objects can be civilian aircraft engaged in research; she also added the aircrafts need to be recovered and analyzed to determine the origin and function.
But it was difficult for them to track these objects because very small and thus created a very low radar cross section according to Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck who is the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Norther Command. He also said that these objects were not a threat to any person or property on the ground.
VanHerck said that the decision was made to shoot the object down and the F-16 fighter jets shot it down and then it landed in Lake Huron about 15 nautical miles from shore. The weapon chosen was the AIM 9X Sidewinder missile as they were considered to be the safest weapon.
Raptor warplanes shot down the previous objects and the spy balloon. Fighter pilots observe the object at first and then before shooting it down they confer with the headquarters said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Deptula said “There is never a ‘shoot-on-sight’ mentality except if there is an ongoing hostile act occurring,” “The intercepting aircraft will relay observed information, that will be digested, evaluated and then a decision made based on the situation.”
