It was big news that the United States shot down a Chinese gray balloon off the coast of South Carolina in the United States. The balloon was shot down by a US F-16 fighter jet over Lake Huron on the US-Canada border. Apart from the spy balloon, many other unidentified objects were also shot down by the US military. Know about this in detail.
What is a balloon?
Four similar objects have recently been spotted in the US sky. The first of these was a balloon seen at 200 feet (60 meters high). US officials said it was a balloon used by China to spy on the United States. But China says it was a research craft.
An object the size of a small car was also shot down near Dead Horse, Alaska on Friday. A similar object, smaller but similar in shape to the Chinese gray balloon that flew over Canada’s Yukon on Saturday, was spotted. An octagonal object was also shot down over Lake Huron on the US-Canada border on Sunday.
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Where does it originate from?
US officials have yet to comment on the matter. General Glenn VanHerk, the US Air Force general who oversees North American airspace, said he was not ruling out an extraterrestrial explanation.
The U.S. military adjusted its radar to detect slow-flying objects at different altitudes after the first balloon was spotted, and the government said it has been able to detect several Chinese spy balloons that have passed over the United States in recent years.
Action by the military?
On February 4, an F22 fighter jet shot down a balloon flying over the Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina. The balloon was also shot down by F-22s over Alaska on Friday and Canada on Saturday. The sighting over Lake Huron was shot down by an F-16. Each one is reportedly worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The threat posed by these objects?
Such unidentified objects found near military bases are expected to raise fears among the adversaries and lead to tensions between the US and China.
Did America send balloons to China?
China has accused Washington of sending balloons over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since early 2022. But US officials have denied this accusation by China. The United States also accuses China of conducting covert surveillance that violates the sovereignty of more than 40 countries on five continents.
The United States also said another Chinese balloon was found in Latin America. Meanwhile, Britain, a close ally of the US, responded that it would review its security in the wake of the US-China balloon incident.
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