U.S. military shoots down another unidentified object over Lake Huron, the 3rd this week
U.S. military officials on Sunday told NBC News that a U.S. F-16 fighter jet had shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron — the fourth flying object to be downed in North American airspace in under two weeks.
The operation was additionally confirmed by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who first tweeted that the military was keeping "an extremely close eye on the object above Lake Huron," and later added that the object had been "downed by pilots from the U.S. Air Force and National Guard."
This marks the third day in a row that an unidentified object was destroyed in the skies of North America.
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This past Friday, officials said President Biden had ordered a "high-altitude object" flying over Alaska to be taken out by fighter pilots. The mystery continued on Saturday when U.S. fighter pilots shot down another unidentified object that had entered Canada's Yukon Territory, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
All of this comes on the heels of a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last week off the coast of South Carolina, after making its way across a wide swath of the United States. This balloon was recovered by the U.S. Navy, and officials said it will be examined by the American intelligence community.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told ABC News' This Week prior to the Lake Huron incident that he believed all three objects shot down were balloons. However, this has not been confirmed by U.S. officials.
Schumer added that lawmakers should look into the origins of these objects.
"I think our military, our intelligence is doing a great job, present and future," Schumer said. "I feel a lot of confidence in what they are doing. But why as far back as the Trump administration did no one know about this?"
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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other Hollywood news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
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