US fighter jets shoot down 3 objects in airspace in a single week | All you could know

In the previous one week, US fighter jets have shot down three objects over the North American skies. Here’s what we all know to this point.

The object was shot down with a AIM-9X missile from a US F-22 (Photo: File)

By India Today Web Desk: US fighter jets have shot down three objects, together with a Chinese spy balloon and two unidentified objects, over the North American skies previously one week. This contains the taking pictures down of an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada on Saturday.

On Friday, an unidentified object was shot down in Alaska airspace by a US F-22. This was preceded by a week-long Chinese spy balloon saga that drew the worldwide highlight and it was additionally taken down by F-22s off the coast of South Carolina.

The object was shot down by an AIM-9X missile from a US F-22 – the identical missile was additionally used to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4, CNN reported.

Here’s a fast recap of what has occurred to this point:

On February 4, US army fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern coast. The Pentagon stated the balloon was half of a big surveillance program that China has been conducting for “several years”. It added that Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of nations throughout 5 continents lately.

The spy balloon was first noticed within the sky over Montana at first and travelled throughout the center of the nation. The US stated the balloon carried high-tech gear able to accumulating communications alerts and different delicate info. The US is assured that China’s army supported the surveillance balloon’s incursion into its airspace.

But China has maintained that the “airship” was used for civilian meteorological and different scientific functions. “China will continue to maintain communication with the US side to properly handle this accident,” it stated.

The US army remains to be working to get well particles from the balloon from the ocean flooring.

The already strained US-China ties soured additional after US army troops shot down the spy balloon that hovered into US airspace. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken final week referred to as off a go to to Beijing over the balloon fracas.

ALSO READ | ‘Airship for scientific functions’: China voices remorse on balloon getting into US airspace

A US army fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the distant northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officers stated. The object was downed as a result of it was flying at about 40,000 toes (13,000 meters) and posed a “reasonable threat” to the protection of civilian flights, the White House stated.

The ‘car-sized’ object shot down by F22 jets appeared within the skies above US waters. The US army stated on Saturday it nonetheless couldn’t supply even primary particulars in regards to the alien ship it shot down off Alaska, Reuters reported. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated there have been stark variations between the ‘object’ shot down and the Chinese balloon downed six days in the past.

However, not a lot is thought about what the thing was, the place it got here from and who owned it.

ALSO READ | Pentagon retrieving ‘car-sized’ object shot down by US jets over Alaska | What we all know to this point

“The object was flying at 40,000 feet, which made it a risk to civilian traffic. That set it apart from the Chinese surveillance balloon, which was traveling well above commercial air traffic,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder was quoted by CNN as saying.

On Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that an “unidentified object” was shot down by a US fighter jet over Canadian airspace on his orders.

US President Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau each accepted the shoot down on Saturday, in response to an announcement from the White House.

ALSO READ | US could crack down on Chinese entities linked to spy balloon incursion

“I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object,” Trudeau stated on Twitter.

I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the thing over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. plane had been scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 efficiently fired on the object.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023

Biden and Trudeau mentioned the significance of recovering the thing with the intention to decide extra particulars on its objective or origin.

Meanwhile, the US army additionally scrambled fighter jets in Montana to research a radar anomaly that triggered a short federal closure of airspace.

ALSO READ | Chinese spy balloon row: China declined US name citing non-conducive environment for talks

Published On:

Feb 12, 2023