The third unidentified object flying over North America was shot down in Canada on Saturday. Before this, one was shot down in the United States in Alaska on Friday and in South Carolina last Saturday.
So far, only the balloon that went down in South Carolina has been confirmed as belonging to China. However, China claims that it was an aircraft that was in “civilian use”.
Neither the United States nor Canada have commented on the origin or purpose of the other two items.
China’s state-controlled Global Times news site further confused the world on Sunday by announcing that China had spotted an “unidentified flying object” that it planned to shoot down. There is no further information about this case so far.
What do we know about the properties of objects?
The target that was shot down in Yukon, Canada was the Minister of Defense By Anita Anand according to cylindrical shape. Anand said that the object flew at an altitude of about 12 kilometers and thus endangered civil air traffic. The target is said to have been smaller than the one shot down in South Carolina.
The object that flew over Alaska is described as the size of a small car. It flew at an altitude of 12 kilometers. News channel ABC (you switch to another service) according to official information, this object was also cylindrical, and it seemed to be flying without a power source.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday In an interview with the ABC channel (you will switch to another service)that the downed objects in the airspace of Alaska and Canada are believed to have been balloons.
– Normally, observation balls would not fly as low as these two latest cases, professor of international politics at the University of Tampere Juha Vuori says.
– In the two most recent cases, it is quite possible that they were, for example, weather observation balloons.
So far, the most information has been released publicly about the South Carolina balloon. It flew higher than the other objects, at an altitude of about 20 kilometers, i.e. above the flight paths. The balloon has been described as the size of two or three buses.
Former intelligence colonel, working life professor at the University of Jyväskylä Martti J. Kari estimated that, based on the leaked information, the balloon had technology with which it is possible to collect intelligence information.
For example, a US magazine Wall Street Journal (you are moving to another service) writes, based on a State Department source, that pictures taken by U-2 reconnaissance planes while the ball was flying show that the ball was equipped with antennas capable of collecting signal information. The sphere also had large solar panels capable of powering the data collection sensors.
– If it is true that the ball has had signal intelligence sensors, it has had a pretty strong ability to collect signal intelligence information, says Kari.
How were the targets shot down?
All flying objects were observed before they were shot down.
US F-22 fighters were used to shoot down all targets. Targets in South Carolina and Alaska were shot off the coast into the sea.
The object that was shot down in Canada was spotted on Friday night first in the United States, from where it flew into Canadian airspace.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau discussed the President of the United States Joe Biden with, before it was decided to shoot down the target by the decision of both.
According to Canadian Defense Minister Anand, it was the first time an unidentified flying object was shot down as part of the Canada-US NORAD air defense cooperation.
Parts of the destroyed objects are currently being collected in both countries.
What is the purpose of mystery items?
According to experts, it is difficult to assess the purpose of the flying objects in Alaska and Yukon in light of the limited information.
According to a US State Department source, the company that manufactured the Chinese balloon has direct connections to the Chinese military. But why would China use a slow and easily detectable aircraft for spying?
– It is possible that something has been tested here, for example whether this kind of technology works. Or it has just been seen how the United States reacts to this matter, Kari estimates.
– What is certain is that this is an intelligence victory for the United States. They have had direct access to that technology, so there is no need to guess what that device is capable of, says Vuori.
What kind of judgments does the sighting of several flying objects within a short period of time evoke?
– It’s hard to say whether it’s ordinary weather observation balloons that get a bigger role than before and are reacted to more strongly than usual because of the Chinese balloon, Vuori says.
– The White House and the Pentagon previously received criticism for why the South Carolina ball was allowed to fly in US airspace for so long. Also Donald Trump’s the administration has been accused of not reporting similar incidents or why they were not identified as Chinese aircraft.
Read more about the topic:
Unidentified flying object shot down over Canada – Trudeau says he ordered the shooting down
The United States says it shot down a target flying over Alaska
Why would China spy on the US with a balloon? Seven questions and answers about a confusing case