The American army shot down a new “ objet » above Lake Huron, on the orders of President Biden, a senior administration official said Sunday, February 12, specifying that he did not represent any “military threat” for American soil.
“As a precaution and on the recommendation of the military command, President Biden ordered that the unidentified object be shot down”the official said. “We assessed that there was not a military threat to anything on the ground”, he added. It was a device “octagonal with strings hanging down”according to the same source.
It had no visible nacelle and was unmanned. It was in the US state of Michigan, about 6,000 meters above sea level, and “was about to go over Lake Huron”he added. “We have no indication that he has spy abilities, but we can’t rule it out”, he said again. The Pentagon explained that “the place chosen to shoot it down avoided any impact for people on the ground and improved the chances of recovering the debris”.
Detected the day before over Montana
According to these latest details, this object would in fact be the reason why the airspaces above the State of Montana and then Lake Michigan were briefly closed, respectively on Saturday and Sunday.
A combat plane dispatched to Montana to investigate a « radar anomaly » did not initially identify« objet » steering wheel, according to the military. But the American forces have “detected an unmanned object [venant du] montana today [dimanche] over Wisconsin and Michigan”, said the administration official. And “His route and altitude have caused concern”including for “civil aviation”he added.
This is the third “ objet » to be shot down in three days by the Americans in their country and in Canada, and the fourth in less than ten days counting the Chinese balloon described by Washington as a spy device, which was targeted by a missile on February 4 after flying over part of the United States.
Washington believes that the first officially detected object, a balloon, was controlled by the Chinese military and was part of a fleet sent by Beijing over more than forty countries on five continents, for espionage purposes. The Chinese government assures him that it was a civil aircraft used for research purposes, mainly meteorological.
On Sunday, US Deputy Defense Secretary Melissa Dalton said that “contacts have been made” with China about this first balloon, without specifying its nature.
Two other flying objects were then shot down by American forces, one Friday over Alaska, the other Saturday in Canada. On Sunday evening, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, must go to the province of Yukon, to the scene where the last was shot. Washington and Ottawa were still busy collecting the remains of the devices on Sunday.
Tension with China
These events have added to the tension between China and the United States, and a visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been postponed. Republican lawmaker Michael McCaul, chairman of the US Congress’ lower house Foreign Affairs Committee, on Sunday accused China of a “ act of belligerence in connection with the balloon shot down on February 4 by the American army. Sending this object was done provocatively to gather intelligence and collect material on our three major nuclear sites”he said on CBS.
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Republicans have strongly criticized Democratic President Joe Biden for letting the balloon hover over the country for days before shooting it down. The Pentagon says it has “ continuously monitored and evaluated”which allowed him to learn more about skills and techniques » espionage from China.
The leader of the Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer, defended Mr. Biden’s handling of the file, telling ABC on Sunday that an analysis of the debris would represent “ a big blow for the United States”.
The president, however, faces calls for more transparency from both parties. “I have real concerns about the reasons why the administration does not communicate more”Democrat Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told NBC. “The American people deserve a lot more answers than what we have”also considered Jack Bergman on Twitter.