2023 Lake Huron high-altitude object
Map
Approximate location where the object was shot down.
DateFebruary 12, 2023
LocationLake Huron
TypeAirspace violation
OutcomeDowned by AIM-9 Sidewinder missile fired by U.S. Air National Guard F-16C fighter aircraft

On February 11, 2023, an octagonal unidentified flying object was detected over northern Montana. It disappeared until spotted the next day in Wisconsin, flying at 20,000 feet over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The object was tracked by NORAD.

The object was shot down over Lake Huron by order of U.S. President Joe Biden on February 12, by an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile fired from a Minnesota Air National Guard F-16.[1][2][3]

On February 16, 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that the search for the object had been suspended due to deteriorating weather and low chance of recovery.[4][5]

Background

The object was detected on February 12, one week after a Chinese balloon was shot down by a U.S. Air Force F-22 off the coast of South Carolina, after the balloon was tracked over the contiguous United States.[2][6]

Melissa Dalton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, said that after the earlier event, the U.S. had been "more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase" in objects detected and shot down.[2] NORAD commander General Glen VanHerck, said that U.S. radar adjustments had allowed the U.S. to better categorize and track slower-moving objects.[2] VanHerck said that in 2021, up to 98% of radar data was not routinely analyzed, because the military aimed to filter out radio signal noise (such as flocks of birds or weather balloons); after the Chinese spy balloon intrusion, the U.S. stepped up its radar monitoring using adjustments "to give us better fidelity on seeing smaller objects."[7]

The object was also detected the same day as the shootdown of a high-altitude object over Yukon, Canada, and one day after another high-altitude object was shot down over northern Alaska.[6]

Capabilities, origin, and description

The object was unmanned and was reportedly octagonal in shape.[1][8] The object reportedly had strings hanging off it.[1]

A spokesman for the National Security Council said that the object was unmanned, and uncontrolled; lacking self-propulsion, it apparently moved with prevailing winds. The NSC spokesman also said that the object did not emit communication signals.[9]

Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the press secretary for the Department of Defense, said that the U.S. military "did not assess" the object to be a "kinetic military threat to anything on the ground," but did "assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities."[1]

On February 14, after the object was shot down, White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the US had found no evidence to connect that object to any country's spying program, and that the U.S. Intelligence Community "will not dismiss as a possibility that these could be balloons that were simply tied to commercial or research entities and therefore benign. That very well could be, or could emerge, as a leading explanation here."[7][10]

Detection and flight path

On February 11, 2023, United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM) detected an object over Havre, Montana, near sensitive military sites.[6] The Federal Aviation Administration briefly closed the airspace over the city; no threatening object was detected over Montana, and it was initially thought to be a potential radar anomaly.[11] Canadian authorities added that the object was first detected above Alberta.[12]

The object was detected on radar over Montana on February 11 and was seen again on radar over Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on February 12, traveling at about 20,000 feet (6,100 m)[1][8]

Ryder said that North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) had "maintained visual and radar tracking" of the object since the morning of February 12, and that "Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites".[1]

Shootdown

On February 12, U.S. President Joe Biden directed that an object over Lake Huron, believed to be a balloon, be shot down "out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of military leaders".[8] It was shot down that day by an AIM-9 Sidewinder fired from a Minnesota Air National Guard F-16 Viper over Lake Huron on the Canada–US border at 2:42 pm CST.[6][8][13] A Sidewinder missile fired earlier had missed its target and landed in Lake Huron.[14][15]

The F-16s deployed to shoot down the object were Duluth, Minnesota-based fighters from the Minnesota Air National Guard's 148th Fighter Wing, which took off from an airfield in Madison, Wisconsin.[16][17]

Ahead of the shootdown, the airspace over parts of Door County, Wisconsin, northern Lake Michigan and northern Michigan was briefly closed to civilian aircraft with a temporary flight restriction (TFR) for national security operations.[17] After that TFR was lifted, the FAA and military authorities imposed a similar restriction on Lake Huron to the east.[17] Some Canadian airspace near Tobermory, Ontario was also closed.[18] A press release from the Pentagon said that "The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery."[17]

Recovery operations

The object fell in Lake Huron approximately 15 nautical miles from the shores of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, likely in deep waters.[9]

According to NORAD commander VanHerck, the object likely fell in Canadian waters.[6] Searches for the wreckage were complicated by the depth of the mid-lake boundary waters as well as 12-foot wave swells and wind gusts up to 30 knots on the day following the object's downing.[9]

On February 16, 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that the search for the object had been suspended due to deteriorating weather and low chance of recovery.[4][5]

Reactions

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she was "glad to report" that the object had been "swiftly, safely and securely taken down" over the lake.[19] Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he was proud of the Minnesota Air National Guard airmen who "executed their mission flawlessly, protected the homeland, and got the birds home safe."[16]

Canadian Minister of National Defence Anita Anand said: "We unequivocally support this action, and we'll continue to work with the US and NORAD to protect North America."[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Liebermann, Oren; Atwood, Kylie; Bertrand, Natasha; Arlette, Saenz; Mattingly, Phil; Britzky, Haley (February 12, 2023). "US fighter jet shoots down airborne object over Lake Huron on Sunday". CNN. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Long, Colleen; C. Baldor, Lolita; Miller, Zeke (February 12, 2023). "'Unidentified object' downed over Lake Huron 1st detected above Montana". Helena Independent Record. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Newdick, Thomas (February 13, 2023). "Listen To F-16 Pilots Intercept The Octagon Object Over Lake Huron". The War Zone. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Lake Huron search for debris suspended, search efforts continue in Yukon". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. February 16, 2023. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "US and Canada abandon search for three flying objects shot down". BBC News. February 18, 2023. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e Stewart, Phil; Shalal, Andrea (February 13, 2023). "U.S. military brings down flying object over Lake Huron". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Lamothe, Dan; Horton, Alex (February 14, 2023). "Three objects shot down over U.S., Canada may be 'benign'". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d Martinez, Luis; Fishel, Justin; Margolin, Josh; Raddatz, Martha; Nagle, Molly; Axelrod, Tal (February 12, 2023). "Military shoots down another high-altitude object, over Lake Huron, officials say". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Nann Burke, Melissa; Beggin, Riley (February 13, 2023). "White House: Shot-down object likely in deep waters of Lake Huron". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (February 15, 2023). "Three objects shot down after Chinese spy balloon may be benign, White House says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Shepardson, David (February 12, 2023). "Montana airspace briefly closed, FAA blames radar anomaly". Reuters. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  12. ^ Tasker, John Paul (February 13, 2023). "Trudeau says flying objects brought down over the past week may be linked". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  13. ^ Rogoway, Tyler; Altman, Howard (February 12, 2023). "F-16 Shoots Down "Octagonal Object" Over Lake Huron (Updated)". The War Zone. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  14. ^ Matza, Max (February 14, 2023). "Chinese balloon sensors recovered from ocean, says US". BBC News. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023. In the Lake Huron strike, the first Sidewinder missile fired by the US F-16 warplane missed its target and exploded in an unknown location, US media reported, citing military sources.
  15. ^ Quinn, Melissa (February 14, 2023). "First missile fired at unidentified object over Lake Huron missed target, top U.S. general says". CBS News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Lovrien, Jimmy (February 13, 2023). "Duluth-based fighter wing shoots down unidentified object over Lake Huron, Walz says". Duluth News Tribune. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c d Andrew Salgado, Beck; Kirby, Hannah (February 12, 2023). "Madison-based jets take down object over Lake Huron hours after airspace was closed over Lake Michigan". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  18. ^ Paas-Lang, Christian (February 12, 2023). "U.S. downs another aerial 'object' over Lake Huron as search continues for wreckage in Yukon". CBC.ca. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Liebermann, Oren; Atwood, Kylie (February 12, 2023). "Object shot down near Lake Huron". CNN. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
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