US Shoots Down Fourth Flying Object Over North America

Facts

• The US on Sunday, under orders from Pres. Joe Biden, shot down another aerial object, this time over Lake Huron, Mich., near the Canadian border. An F-16 fighter jet took out the "object," which defense officials described as an unmanned “octagonal structure,” with a missile because it was traveling at 20k feet and could have interfered with commercial air traffic.¹
• This was the third flying object shot down by the US over North America in three days, and the fourth shot down this month. The shootdowns started with a Chinese balloon taken out over South Carolina on Feb. 4.²
• Last Friday, the US shot down an object flying over Alaska at about 40k feet. Then on Saturday, the US worked with Canada to take down an object flying over the Yukon.³
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the most recent object, which had been picked up by radar over Montana on Saturday, was “swiftly, safely and securely taken down.”²
• The White House is scheduled to provide the Senate with a classified briefing on China on Wednesday. Previously, the White House briefed the House and Senate last week.⁴
• Meanwhile, the US has denied allegations from China that US balloons have entered Chinese airspace “more than ten times” since 2022.⁵

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²The Guardian, ³CNBC, ⁴The Hill, and ⁵CBS.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. While the government is suddenly shooting down objects on a daily basis, Biden is remaining mum. What is he hiding about the sudden increase in unidentified objects in American skies? He’s certainly not doing anything to quell speculation and worry. The American people deserve better transparency at this hectic time.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. Of course Republicans are going to attack Biden over every story in the news, including these shootdowns. Right now, it seems that the military has increased its radar’s sensitivity since the Chinese balloon incident, and the US might be shooting down objects that have always been there. Undoubtedly the president is waiting until we have recovered the objects and gathered more data before he publicly addresses what’s been going on.

Predictions