The White House asserts that Americans need not be concerned about the extraterrestrial origin of the objects shot down by the US military recently over American and Canadian airspace.
During a Monday news briefing at the White House, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby refuted the popular theory. He told reporters that there is no cause for Americans to be frightened about aliens, despite NORAD head Gen. Glen VanHerck indicating he wasn't taking anything off the table.
Unidentified Flying Objects Around US
A reporter questioned Kirby about VanHerck's statements during Monday's briefing, asking whether the Biden administration was also exploring the prospect.
VanHerck also stated that both US and Canadian NORAD personnel had increased the sensitivity of their radar equipment, which might explain why the objects appeared so rapidly.
The item President Biden ordered shot down over Lake Huron on Sunday was reported as "octagonal" in shape with strings hanging down, traveling at around 20,000 feet. As per Fox News, US military personnel said none of the aircraft had discernible propulsion systems.
The three objects flew far lower than the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina over a week ago, which drifted well above civilian air traffic at an altitude of 60,000 feet.
The US and Canada are attempting to retrieve wreckage from all four craft. However, only the one shot down off the United States East Coast is confirmed to have originated in China.
However, despite numerous questions, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre began Monday's news briefing by attempting to disprove the extraterrestrial theory.
Kirby stated that the objects were unmanned, seemed to be propelled by prevailing winds, and lacked communication signals. Two objects flew at or below 40,000 feet, while the third flew at around 20,000 feet over Lake Huron. According to Kirby, each was substantially lower in altitude than the Chinese surveillance balloon and presented a hazard to planes.
The United States has yet to reach the wreckage sites of the items, which landed in distant places and, in two cases, frozen waterways, complicating the search for more information.
Per USA Today, Kirby stated, "We do not believe these most recent objects represent any direct threat to individuals on the ground. We are laser-focused on proving their nature and function, particularly by collecting debris in distant areas where they have landed."
Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, said Sunday that officials are "working hard to determine the nature of these unidentified objects," especially whether they were for surveillance and their capabilities.
The nation's attention has turned upward after three high-altitude objects discovered over Alaska, Canada, and Michigan were shot down by military fighter planes in so many days. After the US Air Force shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, three instances have occurred since Friday.
A US official said the recovery effort off the coast of South Carolina had retrieved a "significant" section - around 30 to 40 feet - of the Chinese balloon's antenna array from the bottom of the ocean. Earlier that week, the Chinese blimp entered US airspace for the first time and toured the country, flying over or near military locations in Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Missouri, before being brought down.
Recovery of Chinese Spy Balloon's Debris
The Navy has been spearheading efforts to recover wreckage and retrieve the balloon's payload, and recovery operations started Monday after they were delayed due to stormy conditions.
In addition to the surveillance balloon, the United States shot down an item over Alaska on Friday and an unidentifiable object over the Yukon with the assistance of Canadian officials on Saturday. On Sunday, the US military shot down another high-altitude object, traveling 20,000 feet over the Great Lakes region.
Kirby said Monday that the US did not feel the three items represented a direct threat to persons on the ground but may have been a concern to civilian commercial aviation traffic, given their height.
He added that the government is "laser-focused" on establishing the nature and purpose of the items, including through "intense" attempts to gather debris in the locations where they landed.
Kirby said the recent spike in the objects spotted might partially be explained by NORAD increasing its radar capabilities to more thoroughly monitor the airspace between the US and Canada in light of the recent invasion by the Chinese airship.
Kirby added that inexplicable airborne occurrences had been recorded "for many years without explanation or extensive analysis" by the federal government. However, the US, under the Biden administration, strives to achieve deeper knowledge.
An evaluation of reports of what the government refers to as "unidentified aerial phenomena" published last month revealed that of the 366 new claims of sightings since 2004, 163 were of "balloon-like objects."
In Belgium, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters the priority is debris recovery, CBS News reported. He said that the Pentagon is working closely with the rest of the federal government, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the FBI, and NASA. He assured Americans that the objects don't constitute a military danger to anybody on the ground.
Related Article: US Shoots Down 4th Unidentified Object
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