UNITED STATES: The United States military has taken down an unidentified flying object (UFO) in U.S. airspace for the second time in a week.
On Friday, February 10, a mysterious object was detected flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet off the coast of northern Alaska.
Upon confirming the object’s presence and potential threat, President Joe Biden gave the nod for a fighter jet to take it out.
The object was destroyed, and teams started to look for its pieces to find out where it came from and what it could do.
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder held a press briefing on Friday to update the public on the incident.
He confirmed that the object was about the size of a small car and added that it posed a credible threat to civilian flight safety. The fighter jet took it down quickly to prevent any potential damage.
The shooting of the flying object comes just six days after the U.S. military shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
The Chinese spy balloon was much larger, about 200 feet tall, and the truss structure hanging beneath it was the size of several school buses.
Ryder confirmed that the size and shape of the object taken down in Alaska were not similar to the Chinese spy balloon.
Despite the two incidents occurring so close together, Ryder would not confirm any connection between them.
He stated that there were no further details about the object in Alaska, including its origin, purpose, or capabilities. Teams have already begun to search for debris from the object to learn more.
Additionally, Ryder gave an update on the recovery efforts of the Chinese spy balloon.
Debris from the balloon has already been found, catalogued, and taken to labs for analysis. The recovery teams have located a significant quantity of debris that will provide a better understanding of the balloon’s surveillance capabilities.
The United States military takes incidents like these very seriously to ensure the safety of the nation’s airspace.
The events of the last week highlight the importance of being vigilant in monitoring U.S. airspace and quickly responding to any potential threats.
As of now, it needs to be clarified if the two things that were taken down have anything to do with each other, and the investigation into what happened is still going on.
People have talked about the two events online, with some wondering if the objects that fell were part of a new, unknown threat.
The U.S. has a long history of investigating UFOs, with the Pentagon reportedly spending $22 million on a secretive programme investigating unexplained aerial phenomena between 2007 and 2012.
The Pentagon reportedly set up the programme at the request of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has long been an advocate for investigating UFOs. However, the Pentagon stopped funding the programme in 2012, citing other priorities.
The U.S. Navy also introduced new guidelines for its pilots in 2019 after a series of unexplained sightings of UFOs, including videos released by the Pentagon that showed U.S. pilots encountering objects they could not identify.
The Navy did not classify the videos, but their release was unusual. It is unclear whether the downed UFO off the coast of Alaska will reignite interest in these sightings or prompt further investigation by the military.
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