{"id":3906,"date":"2023-02-13T16:55:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T16:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3906"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:53:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:53:29","slug":"us-shot-down-4-objects-in-8-days-unprecedented-in-peacetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/diplomatic-world\/us-shot-down-4-objects-in-8-days-unprecedented-in-peacetime\/2023\/02\/13\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"US shot down 4 objects in 8 days, unprecedented in peacetime"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON<\/span> (AP)<\/span> —<\/span> A<\/span> U.S.<\/span> fighter<\/span> jet<\/span> shot<\/span> down<\/span> an<\/span> “unidentified<\/span> object”<\/span> over<\/span> Lake<\/span> Huron<\/span> on<\/span> Sunday<\/span> on<\/span> orders<\/span> from<\/span> President<\/span> Joe<\/span> Biden.<\/span> It<\/span> was<\/span> his<\/span> fourth<\/span> downing<\/span> in<\/span> eight<\/span> days<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> latest<\/span> military<\/span> strike<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> unusual<\/span> string<\/span> of<\/span> events<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> that<\/span> Pentagon<\/span> officials<\/span> believe<\/span> are<\/span> unprecedented<\/span> in<\/span> peacetime.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Part<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> reason<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> repeated<\/span> downings<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> “alert<\/span> status”<\/span> after<\/span> Chinese<\/span> reconnaissance<\/span> balloons<\/span> appeared<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> in<\/span> late<\/span> January,<\/span> NORAD<\/span> and<\/span> U.S.<\/span> Northern<\/span> Command<\/span> General<\/span> Glenn<\/span> Vanherk<\/span> told<\/span> reporters<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> briefing.<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>U.S.<\/span> officials<\/span> have<\/span> made<\/span> it<\/span> clear<\/span> that<\/span> they<\/span> constantly<\/span> monitor<\/span> for<\/span> unfamiliar<\/span> radar<\/span> signals,<\/span> and<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> not<\/span> uncommon<\/span> to<\/span> close<\/span> airspace<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> precautionary<\/span> measure<\/span> to<\/span> assess<\/span> them.<\/span> But<\/span> the<\/span> unusually<\/span> confident<\/span> response<\/span> cast<\/span> doubt<\/span> on<\/span> whether<\/span> such<\/span> use<\/span> of<\/span> force<\/span> was<\/span> justified.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> Pentagon<\/span> official<\/span> said<\/span> they<\/span> were<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> pinpoint<\/span> what<\/span> the<\/span> object<\/span> was,<\/span> and<\/span> considered<\/span> using<\/span> jet<\/span> cannons<\/span> instead<\/span> of<\/span> missiles,<\/span> but<\/span> that<\/span> proved<\/span> too<\/span> difficult.<\/span> We<\/span> made<\/span> a<\/span> clear<\/span> distinction<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> three<\/span> balloons<\/span> launched<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> weekend<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> one<\/span> from<\/span> China.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Minnesota<\/span> Governor<\/span> Tim<\/span> Waltz<\/span> tweeted<\/span> that<\/span> airmen<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> 148th<\/span> Fighter<\/span> Wing,<\/span> the<\/span> State<\/span> Air<\/span> Force<\/span> fighter<\/span> unit<\/span> based<\/span> in<\/span> Duluth,<\/span> shot<\/span> down<\/span> an<\/span> object<\/span> over<\/span> Lake<\/span> Huron.<\/span> The<\/span> latest<\/span> crash,<\/span> first<\/span> spotted<\/span> in<\/span> Montana<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday<\/span> night,<\/span> was<\/span> initially<\/span> thought<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> an<\/span> anomaly.<\/span> It<\/span> caught<\/span> it<\/span> again<\/span> and<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> flew<\/span> over<\/span> Lake<\/span> Huron.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Meanwhile,<\/span> U.S.<\/span> officials<\/span> were<\/span> still<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> identify<\/span> two<\/span> other<\/span> objects<\/span> shot<\/span> down<\/span> by<\/span> F-22<\/span> fighter<\/span> jets<\/span> and<\/span> were<\/span> working<\/span> to<\/span> determine<\/span> whether<\/span> China<\/span> was<\/span> responsible.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> object<\/span> shot<\/span> down<\/span> over<\/span> Canada’s<\/span> Yukon<\/span> Territory<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> much<\/span> smaller<\/span> balloon<\/span> than<\/span> the<\/span> one<\/span> attacked<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> missile<\/span> on<\/span> February<\/span> 4,<\/span> US<\/span> officials<\/span> said.<\/span> The<\/span> object<\/span> that<\/span> landed<\/span> on<\/span> Alaska’s<\/span> remote<\/span> north<\/span> coast<\/span> on<\/span> Friday<\/span> was<\/span> described<\/span> as<\/span> being<\/span> rather<\/span> cylindrical<\/span> and<\/span> an<\/span> airship<\/span> of<\/span> some<\/span> sort.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> three<\/span> objects<\/span> were<\/span> much<\/span> smaller,<\/span> differed<\/span> in<\/span> appearance,<\/span> and<\/span> flew<\/span> at<\/span> lower<\/span> altitudes<\/span> than<\/span> the<\/span> spy<\/span> balloons<\/span> that<\/span> were<\/span> suspected<\/span> of<\/span> crashing<\/span> into<\/span> the<\/span> Atlantic<\/span> Ocean<\/span> after<\/span> a<\/span> US<\/span> missile<\/span> attack.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> official<\/span> said<\/span> his<\/span> three<\/span> other<\/span> objects<\/span> do<\/span> not<\/span> match<\/span> China’s<\/span> fleet<\/span> of<\/span> aerial<\/span> surveillance<\/span> balloons,<\/span> which<\/span> target<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 40<\/span> countries<\/span> and<\/span> date<\/span> back<\/span> to<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> the<\/span> Trump<\/span> administration.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>China’s<\/span> foreign<\/span> ministry<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> unmanned<\/span> balloon<\/span> was<\/span> off<\/span> course<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> civilian<\/span> weather<\/span> airship.<\/span> Beijing<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> had<\/span> “overreacted”<\/span> by<\/span> shooting<\/span> it<\/span> down.<\/span> Then<\/span> on<\/span> Friday,<\/span> the<\/span> North<\/span> American<\/span> Aerospace<\/span> Defense<\/span> Command<\/span> (a<\/span> joint<\/span> U.S.-Canadian<\/span> organization<\/span> that<\/span> jointly<\/span> defends<\/span> the<\/span> airspace<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> nations)<\/span> spotted<\/span> an<\/span> object<\/span> near<\/span> Alaska’s<\/span> sparsely<\/span> populated<\/span> Dead<\/span> Horse,<\/span> shot<\/span> down.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Later<\/span> that<\/span> night,<\/span> NORAD<\/span> spotted<\/span> his<\/span> second<\/span> object<\/span> flying<\/span> over<\/span> Alaska,<\/span> US<\/span> officials<\/span> said.<\/span> It<\/span> crosses<\/span> Canadian<\/span> airspace<\/span> and<\/span> was<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> remote<\/span> Yukon<\/span> when<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> shot<\/span> down<\/span> by<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Justin<\/span> Trudeau<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> both<\/span> incidents,<\/span> the<\/span> objects<\/span> were<\/span> flying<\/span> at<\/span> approximately<\/span> 40,000<\/span> feet.<\/span> The<\/span> object<\/span> Sunday<\/span> he<\/span> flew<\/span> at<\/span> 20,000<\/span> feet.<\/span> The<\/span> incident<\/span> heightened<\/span> diplomatic<\/span> tensions<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> and<\/span> China,<\/span> raised<\/span> questions<\/span> about<\/span> the<\/span> extent<\/span> of<\/span> U.S.<\/span> surveillance<\/span> by<\/span> Beijing,<\/span> and<\/span> sparked<\/span> days<\/span> of<\/span> criticism<\/span> from<\/span> Republican<\/span> lawmakers<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> administration’s<\/span> response.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was his fourth downing in eight days and the latest military strike in an unusual string of events over the United States that Pentagon officials believe are unprecedented in peacetime. Part […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[2425,24,26,276],"tags":[152,741,1069,1070,1071,1072,1073],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/objects.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3906"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3907,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3906\/revisions\/3907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}