#F-22 Fighter Jet Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon

[blueiscoool]

F-22 Fighter Jet Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon

A U.S. military fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace and triggered a dramatic -- and public -- spying saga that worsened Sino-U.S. relations.

A F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia -- took the shot at 2:39 p.m. (1939 GMT), using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile, a senior U.S. military official said.

The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the U.S. coast of the Atlantic Ocean, over relatively shallow water, potentially aiding efforts to recover elements of the Chinese surveillance equipment over the coming days, U.S. officials said.

[usafphantom2]

possible clues about what its strategy would be in the event of conflict.

The images, taken by Google Earth on May 29, feature a model aircraft carrier and more than 20 replicas of jets resembling US stealth fighters.

"Chinese PLA Air Force pilots are learning to practice air strikes on American F-35 and F-22 mock-ups," said a post containing four satellite pictures published on X, formerly Twitter, by the Turkey-based Clash Report.

The military blogging account identified the location as Qakilik in the Taklamakan Desert. The Post has not been able to verify the images and there has been no official confirmation from China.

Several of these replicas appeared to be severely damaged.

The exercises reflect the People's Liberation Army's efforts to build up its long-range ballistic and cruise missile systems to neutralise the threats from US naval forces, according to Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

"US and allied naval forces in general would be a natural target because of their power projection capabilities, which are perceived by Beijing as a threat," he said.

Koh continued that it would be in line with Beijing's growing emphasis on simulating realistic campaigns and "by and large, Beijing's wartime scenarios appear aimed at counter-intervention against the Americans" especially in the event of conflict in the South China Sea or Taiwan.

If the drill involved the PLA's intercontinental-range systems, it may have been practising strikes on targets such as Guam, Alaska and Hawaii, he added.

The PLA has long held that its exercises are not aimed at any specific party, but mock targets can sometimes give away its thinking - either by accident or design.

In 2015, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast footage of PLA troops taking part in mock battles near a building that closely resembled Taiwan's presidential office.

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the exercise appeared to fit the PLA's counter-intervention strategy, designed to deny US and allied naval forces in the Western Pacific access to potential war zones further east.

"This implies the PLA's strike capabilities will probably have either an electro-optical or synthetic aperture radar terminal guidance system to image the target and guide the warhead prior to precisely striking at a specific location on a military base," he said.

The exercise would allow the PLA to improve its precision in scenarios such as a ballistic missile "seeking to strike a moving target at sea, such as an aircraft carrier".

He also said that practising in the desert would help the PLA to improve its ability to carry out long-range conventional precision strikes on land targets, such as airfields.

Hong-Kong based military commentator Leung Kwok-leung said the satellite images suggested a simulated strike on Alaska, where most F-22s were based.

"Alaska is also the base of the most important national missile defence system in the United States. Last year, an F-22 was used to shoot down China's so-called spy balloon, which shows that the F-22 also undertakes the task of the missile defence system," Leung said.

Timothy Heath, a senior international defence researcher at the Rand Corporation think tank, also said "the Chinese are not hiding the mock-ups, so they may not care if Westerners observe them".

"It may also be the case that the Chinese want the US military to see this as a reminder that China is serious about military training and preparation and as a warning against the United States," Heath said.

[strictlyfavorites]

Patrouille Suisse is the aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force. The team flies six F-5E Tiger II light multirole fighters.

Suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by Virginia F-22 jet, Dept. of Defense says

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Yves “Jetman” Rossy flies in formation alongside the Breitling Wingwalkers

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Close-up view of Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft cockpit, December 23, 1942.

Su-34, le couteau Suisse de l’armée Russe?

[jakey-beefed-it]

This whole situation with ostensibly Chinese ostensibly spy balloons floating over the US is incredibly stupid, and I suspect that’s the entire point.

Assuming they are, uniformly and not just that first one, of PRC origin, I strongly doubt they’re a serious attempt to gather intelligence of any sort. They have satellites for god’s sake. Plus the old tried and true ‘pay someone in your target country to steal intel and give it to you’. They really don’t need big, obvious balloons hovering over an ICBM base for any intel reason.

And maybe they’re legitimately weather balloons. I’m not discounting that. It’s entirely possible they have a completely scientific mission and all this talk of ‘spy balloons’ is every bit as ridiculous as it sounds.

However.

Sending a fighter jet (not least an F-22, whose first confirmed aerial kill is now a godddamned balloon) after a balloon makes the US look stupid and fearful. Someone overreacting to a spider with a flamethrower. Panicky. Even launching a SAM would be silly, but for whatever reason (altitude? radar profile too small? no heat signature worth talking about?) that’s infeasible, and so they have to literally scramble an expensive to maintain jet fighter, waste whatever jet fuel it takes to get up to altitude and back, and the cost of the air to air missile.

Shoot it down, look stupid and waste lots of money. Let it go, look (to your own panicky citizens at least) weak. It’s a lose/lose situation. And all for the cost of some balloons.

[darkmaga-returns]

Over the past four years, Chinese spy balloons and other foreign “UFO” drones have been conducting surveillance over sensitive military sites in the United States, the Pentagon confirms. However, the Pentagon says it cannot stop these fleets of unidentified drones due to federal laws prohibiting military action on U.S. soil. A recent report by the Wall Street Journal reveals that these aerial intruders have been surveilling key military locations, including the elite SEAL Team Six base and Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval port in the world. Some attempts to track these drones have come up short, while some spy drones have been caught with surveillance footage of military installations.

Pentagon rendered helpless against foreign adversaries spying on American soil

In a startling admission, the Pentagon has indicated it has limited options to counter these drones due to federal laws prohibiting military action against them. This includes shooting down the drones, a measure deemed too risky for both troops and civilians. Jamming their signals, which could disrupt essential services such as 911 emergency systems and commercial air traffic, has also been ruled out in high-level White House discussions.

Former U.S. Air Force General Mark Kelly was briefed on the drone sightings in December of 2023, when military personnel at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia reported observing dozens of unknown drones flying over the installation at night. The base, home to the advanced F-22 Raptor fighter jets, experienced an unusual 17-day streak of sightings, with officials suspecting that the drones might be operated by agents from Russia or China.

“This is unlike previous drone incidents we’ve encountered,” said Gen. Glen VanHerck, highlighting the complexity and coordination of the operations, which led authorities to dismiss the idea that amateur drone pilots were involved.

[202105961caic2223]

The U.S. and China are at each other’s throats… AGAIN

Hold on to your seatbelts folks… 

On February the 4th, 2023, Joe Biden authorized an F-22 fighter jet to shoot down a Chinese Surveillance balloon over the South Carolina Coastline. Leading up to the military response from the U.S., The Los Angeles Times reported; “A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.”

This caused tensions between the United States and China to heighten, which is concerning. Antony Blinken (the Secretary of State) issued a severe warning to China, following Beijing's contributions of providing Russia with military equipment for its invasion of Ukraine. Sky News reported; “Mr. Blinken said the United States  was very concerned that China is providing lethal support to Russia and that he made clear to Mr Wang that “would have serious consequences in our relationship”

 NATO has become increasingly concerned that a victorious Russian assault against Ukraine could possibly escalate tensions between China and Taiwan even further, potentially leading to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan itself. This whole Spy Balloon saga has simply given the U.S. and China the excuse to jump at each other's throats once more.

[arun-pratap-singh]

China bans Lockheed Martin, Raytheon for supplying arms to Taiwan

Lockheed Martin is a major name in defence products, especially the fighter jets like F-22 Raptor fighter which was used to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon earlier this month. India lekhaka-Deepak Tiwari | Published: Monday, February 20, 2023, 13:24 [IST] The situation is escalating faster than expected in US-China affairs. Earlier the US burst Chinese balloons spying on the American…

[saniahamza-blog]

Balloon expert explains the challenges of shooting down China’s suspected spy balloon • TechCrunch #USA #America #News #bbc #fitness #sports #tech #technology #us #AI #Business #Economics #Entertainment #Music #Health #Politics #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Technology

Earlier this month, a suspected Chinese spy balloon drifted over much of the continental United States before an F-22 military fighter jet shot it down off the east coast. The event has put a massive strain on the already-fragile U.S.-China relations, with China maintaining that the errant balloon was simply collecting weather data. Shooting down the balloon, Beijing said, was an…

[hostor-infotech]

Balloon expert explains the challenges of shooting down China’s suspected spy balloon • TechCrunch

Earlier this month, a suspected Chinese spy balloon drifted over much of the continental United States before an F-22 military fighter jet shot it down off the east coast. The event has put a massive strain on the already-fragile U.S.-China relations, with China maintaining that the errant balloon was simply collecting weather data. Shooting down the balloon, Beijing said, was an…

[captainconvey]

Biden regime, pentagon, and fake media has lied about china spy balloons.

Suspicious Cat Knows China Spy Balloons are a Biden Regime distraction to hide the fact the biden regime blew up the Nord pipeline, biden secret docs found everywhere and inflation going through the roof.

U.S. house of representatives is investigating biden and hunter biden.

A mystery object shot down by U.S. fighter jets amid ongoing hysteria sparked by a Chinese spy balloon was a $12 inflatable launched by a hobby group in Illinois.

A mystery object shot down by U.S. fighter jets amid ongoing hysteria sparked by a Chinese spy balloon may have been a $12 inflatable launched by a hobby group in Illinois.

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) reported one of its balloons 'missing in action' around the same location - and at the time time - a U.S. Air Force jet downed an unidentified object near Alaska using a $400,000 Sidewinder missile.

NIBBB said its 'K9YO' balloon last reported its location shortly before 1am GMT on Saturday, February 11 (8pm EST on February 10), near the coast of southwest Alaska.

The Bottlecap balloon brigade had already gone around the earth 6 times before the military lied and actually shot down a balloon launched from northern illinois on Feb 11, 2023.

Pentagon used a $400,000.00 missile to shoot down a https://nibbb.org/ Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade - balloon.

Pico Ballooning is a part of Amateur Radio also known as Ham Radio or Hams. We’re licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowing us to communicate to other Hams throughout the World.

Pico meaning small, we send a small transmitter, with GPS tracking and antenna on a balloon filled with Hydrogen, rising to 47,000 feet, and travelling with the speed of the Jetstream.

As we travel, our GPS is able to locate our current location, and other information is gathered depending on what chips we have on our transmitter while using other programs to gather other inflight information.

Other Hams can receive our signal and are reported on a computer using WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporting) from anywhere through the internet. Our total package of transmitter, antenna, and balloon weigh less than an ounce, that is really small.

Here is the cylinder shaped object the military says it shot down.

The object shot down by a a U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jet over Mayo, Yukon, was variously described by officials in Canada and the U.S. as a 'cylindrical', metallic balloon with a payload.

Balloons used by hobby groups like NIBBB often fit the same description.

They are usually attached with a small, solar-powered payload that transmits location data back to listening posts on the ground. Typically, these payloads are no larger than a credit card.

Far from posing a military or surveillance threat, the 'pico balloons' launched by hobby groups like NIBBB often do little more than relay location data - or, in some cases, information about the weather. 

They float around until they're damaged or brought down by bad weather. K9YO was airborne for 123 days and 18 hours before it stopped reporting its location.

In that time, it circumnavigated the globe six times.

Our Pico Balloons can be tracked on our website tab, “Locate and Track“.

Pico Balloon Groups.

groups.io/g/picoballoon

Captain Convey Balloon Note

I blew up the title like a balloon. :)

There are private balloons floating around in addition to china spy balloons.

For those of you in Reo Linda, as Rush Limbaugh use to say. a pico balloon is not a china spy ballon but only a ham radio hobby balloon.

The biden regime is trying to make you think they don't know what was shot down using a $400,000 missle.

The balloon shut down over Canada was a pico balloon launched by a ham radio balloon club that had been around the world 6 times before the U.S. military took it out on Feb 11, 2023.

All the news is FAKE news about balloons or UFO's etc.

Why?

China Spy Ballons are a Biden Regime distraction to hide the fact the biden regime blew up the Nord pipeline, biden secret docs found everywhere and inflation going through the roof.

The U.S. house of representatives is investigating biden and hunter biden.

The biden regime wants your attention on balloons instead of his regime's criminal activity!

[opedguy]

Spy Balloon Origin Unknown

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Feb. 14, 2023.--Downing the Chinese spy balloon Feb. 4 with a sidewinder missile fired from an F-22 fighter jet, the Pentagon collected the debris in shallow water off Myrtle Beach, S.C., determining that it was Chinese origin.  China Foreign Ministry’s predictable response, insisting the two-ton, double-bus-sized object was anything but an innocent weather balloon that strayed off course.  Whatever the guidance mechanisms, it was enough to travel from China, into Alaska, down to Idaho, pass over Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base, over the Midwest to Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force base home to the Stealth Bomber and on to the East Coast.  It took 80-year-old President Joe Biden at least a week to figure out what to do, claiming he was being cautious not to shoot it down over populated areas.  Pentagon officials, despute China’s denials, say the balloon was a Chinese skycraft.

One week later Feb. 11, the Pentagon shot down another suspicious ballot over the Alaska coast, unable, like in South Carolina, to confirm yet the origin of the balloon   While the origin is not known yet, it’s highly likely that the smaller balloon, the size of a car, was part of the same fleet of spy balloons sent over the North and South America.  China admitted Feb. 3 that another balloon detected over South America was part of its weather balloon fleet collecting atmospheric data.   When the North American Aerospace Command [NORAD] shot down another balloon over Canada’s northern Yukon territories, 51-year-old Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the UFO violated Canadian airspace, posing a threat to Canadian aviation. With the fleet of balloons all found in one week, it’s more clear than ever that it was part of an organized spy balloon fleet sent from China.

  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acted swiftly coordinating with Biden and NORAD to give the order to shoot down the balloon.  “I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,” Trudeau said.  “[NORAD] shot down the object over the Yukon and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and the U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.”  Trudeau said he talked with Biden about the necessity to send a message to any nation, especially China, which violated Canadian sovereignty.  Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said he would be working with the RCMP “as Canadian authorities conduct a recovery operations to help our countries learn about the object,” knowing, with high certainty, it was Chinese in origin. Yukon Premier Ranj Rillai said he was briefed by federal ministers about the object, and reassured resident “at no time was the safety of Yukoners at risk“

 Flying at around 40,000 feet the balloon could potentially interfere with Canadian air traffic, prompting the urgent decision to shoot it down.  “Frankly, we were concerned with getting it out the sky,” Ryder said.  “And that was our focus all day and indeed the past 24 hours.  And so an further information about the object and reassured residents that “at no time was the safety of Yukoners at risk.”  Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said Canadian CF-18s were involved in tracking the coordinates of the balloon, coordinated with NORAD’s F-22 that eventually fired the kill shot.  “When we first started tracking this object it was dark and we needed to make sure that we had a visual of it and so needed to wait for daylight to emerge,” Anand said.  Anand confirmed that she wanted to have infrared capability working with NORAD to coordinate with F-22s to fire the sidewinder missile.

Canada’s liberal government was under fire opposition parties to confirm the identity of the object taken town Feb. 11 over Yukon territories.  Canada’s House of Commons agreed to hold hearings to allow Anand to testify everything she knows about the origin of the balloon.  So far, all indications point to China but Anand wants to have confirmation after the debris has been recovered.  Three  balloons shot down over Alaska, Canada and South Carolina present compelling evidence that the Chinese were on a fishing expedition trying to gain intel on strategic U.S. and Canadian military sites. Pentagon officials confirmed a fourth balloon located over South America, confirming a coordinated effort by Chinese to seek intel around the North and South American hemisphere.  Multiple balloon sighting over a week period indicates they were all launched roughly at the same time.

Shooting down three balloons with a week period indicates that China went on a fishing expedition into sovereign airspace of North and South America.  China’s Peoples Liberation Army [PLA] shows little regard of international sovereignty but, more importantly, for the rule of law, especially as it concerns international waters and airspace.  When China rejected the International Court of Arbitration at the Hague’s ruling July 12, 2016 about violating sovereignty in the South China Sea, the PLA demonstrated it was a rogue organization rejecting the rules based order.  Sending spy balloons over North and South American continues China’s rogue activities when it comes to respecting territorial integrity.  Recovering sensors guiding the massive balloon shot down Feb. 4 over Myrtle Beach proves that China lied about collecting only weather information with its balloon fleet.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[usafphantom2]

F-22 fighters, with the callsign "Frank", kill Chinese balloon that flew over the U.S.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 04/02/2023 - 18:19 in Military

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that he ordered U.S. authorities to take down the alleged Chinese spy balloon and two F-22 Raptor fighters slaughtered the balloon when it was outside U.S. mainland. The moment was recorded on video.

“They successfully knocked down and I want to praise our aviators who did this,” Biden said after descending from Air Force One on his way to Camp David.

F-22 Raptor fighters knocked down the giant white balloon off the coast of Carolina after it crossed sensitive military sites throughout North America and became the latest critical point in the tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Interestingly, the F-22 Raptors of the mission used the call sign "FRANK", and it is very significant. Frank Luke Jr. was an American hunting ace in World War I, better known as "Arizona Balloon Buster". He is credited with shooting down 14 German surveillance balloons.

Frank Luke Jr, who shot down 14 German balloons in World War I.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement that Biden approved the slaughter on Wednesday, saying it should be done "so that the mission could be accomplished without undue risks to American lives under the path of the balloon".

Austin said that due to the size and altitude of the balloon, which moved about 60,000 feet in the air, the military determined that knocking it down on the ground would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The balloon was spotted on Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the coast. In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed the airspace on the coast of Carolina, including the airports of Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, and Wilmington in North Carolina. The FAA redirected air traffic from the area and warned of delays due to flight restrictions.

An operation was underway in the United States' territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover the wreckage of the balloon, which flew at about 60,000 feet and had the estimated size of three school buses.

President Joe Biden had told reporters early Saturday that he “would take care of it,” when asked about the balloon. The Federal Aviation Administration and the Coast Guard worked to clean the airspace and water under the balloon when it reached the ocean.

Television images showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon descending towards the water. U.S. military jets were seen flying nearby and ships were positioned in the water to set up the recovery operation.

See below the moment that the balloon was shot down by the Raptors on the coast of the states of South and North Carolina.

The authorities intended to time the operation so that they could recover as much wreckage as possible before they sank into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any field of wreckage would be substantial.

The Coast Guard advised sailors to leave the area immediately because of U.S. military operations “that present a significant risk”.

The public disclosure of the balloon this week led to the cancellation of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing, scheduled for Sunday, for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. On Saturday, the Chinese government sought to minimize the cancellation.

"In fact, the U.S. and China have never announced any visits, the fact that the U.S. makes such an announcement is their subject and we respect that," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday morning.

China continued to claim that the balloon was just a meteorological research "driving" that had been diverted from the course. The Pentagon rejected this immediately - as well as China's claim that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigation capacity.

The balloon was seen over Montana, which houses one of the three United States nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Base.

The Pentagon also recognized reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “Now we evaluate that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” said Brig. General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, in a statement.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately answer a question about the second balloon.

Blinken, who was supposed to leave from Washington to Beijing on Friday, said he told Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon about the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that the decision (of China) to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions we were prepared to have.”

Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the government's official position that the U.S. was exaggerating the situation. Some used this as a chance to mock U.S. defenses, saying they couldn't even defend themselves from a balloon, and nationalist influencers took advantage of the news to mock the U.S.

China denied any espionage allegation and said it is a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon's journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to "turb" it based on the balloon.

Source: With information from Associated Press

Tags: Military AviationBalloonsChinaF-22 RaptorUSAF - United States Air Force / US Air Force

Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[cpandf]

U.S. shoots down unidentified cylindrical object over Canada | Reuters

WASHINGTON/OTTAWA, Feb 11 (Reuters) – A U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada on Saturday, the second such instance in as many days, as North America appeared on edge following a week-long Chinese spying balloon saga that drew the global spotlight.Separately, the U.S. military also scrambled fighter jets in Montana to investigate a radar anomaly that…

[newnewz]

'Unidentified object' shot down by US military over Lake Huron, third this week

It was the fourth object shot out of the sky by U.S. fighter jets in eight days, along with ones over Alaska and Canada and a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

WASHINGTON: A US fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden, believed to be the same one tracked over Montana and monitored by the government beginning the night before, the Pentagon said.

It was the fourth object shot out of the sky by U.S. fighter jets in eight days, along with ones over Alaska and Canada and a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Pentagon officials have said they don’t know when the last shootdown of an unknown or unauthorized object over U.S. territory occurred before this spate of incidents.

U.S. authorities have made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them. But the unusually assertive response was raising questions about whether such use of force was warranted, particularly as administration officials said the objects were not of great national security concern and the downings were just out of caution.

The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the U.S. and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Since, then many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.

The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, according to U.S. officials, who had knowledge of the downings and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operations.

U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. It was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, according to one of the officials.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets and were working to determine whether China was responsible as concerns escalated about what Washington said was Beijing's large-scale aerial surveillance program.

An object shot down Saturday over Canada's Yukon was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon — the size of three school buses — hit by a missile Feb. 4. A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.

Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.

The three objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike.

The officials said the other three objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC’s “This Week” that U.S. officials were working quickly to recover debris. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said U.S military and intelligence officials were “focused like a laser” on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.

“The bottom line is until a few months ago we didn’t know about these balloons,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the spy program that the administration has linked to the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military. “It is wild that we didn’t know.”

Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the U.S. for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. U.S. officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.

China's Foreign Ministry said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down.

Then, on Friday, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected and shot down an object near sparsely populated Deadhorse, Alaska.

Later that evening, NORAD detected a second object, flying at a high altitude over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday and was over the Yukon, a remote territory, when it was ordered shot down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In both of those incidents, the objects were flying at roughly 40,000 feet. The object on Sunday was flying at 20,000 feet.

The cases have increased diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, raised questions about the extent of Beijing’s American surveillance, and prompted days of criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administration’s response.

Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration was looking “somewhat trigger-happy.”

“Although that is certainly preferable to the permissive environment they showed when the Chinese spy balloon was coming over some of most sensitive sites,” Turner, R-Ohio, told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

After the shootdown last weekend, Chinese officials said they reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, urged the administration to be as forthcoming as possible, saying the lack of solid information was fueling online speculation.

Himes said it was clear from briefings in recent years “that there is a lot of garbage up there” in the sky.

“The truth is that most of our sensors and most of what we were looking for didn’t look like balloons,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

[college-girl199328]

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau jointly made the decision to shoot down an unidentified object violating Canadian airspace, according to statements released Saturday.

After the North American Aerospace Defense Command discovered the cylindrical object Friday evening, Canadian and U.S. jets intercepted it, and a U.S. F-22--deployed for the third time this week—shot it down Saturday afternoon.

Biden and Trudeau to shoot down the object “out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries,” a White House statement said.

The latest incident comes a day after another F-22 downed an unidentified cylindrical object over Alaskan airspace, which is currently being recovered by the U.S. military near the Alaskan town of Deadhorse.

The intercepts follow the cross-country saga earlier this month when a Chinese surveillance balloon overflew the U.S. from Montana to South Carolina before it was downed over the Atlantic.

The U.S. Defense Department confirmed that NORAD detected the object over Alaska on Friday evening; Canadian authorities conducted recovery operations to help learn more about the entity; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

Anita Anand, Canada's defense minister, said in a tweet on Saturday that she and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had discussed the incident and "will always defend our sovereignty together."

The Canadian defence minister said it appeared to be a small cylindrical object, smaller than the one that was shot down off the coast of North Carolina last week at roughly 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” she said.

Anand said it was downed at 3:41 p.m. ET, about 100 miles from the U.S.-Canada border in central Yukon, and Canadian aircraft were involved in the operation. American F-22s were launched from the Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, and Canadian F-18s from Cold Lake, and Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre confirmed an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile from the F-22 downed the object.

Anand did not confirm if the object was from China, saying it was too early to determine where it came from. Anand had met with Austin in Washington on Friday, when the spy balloon shot down over the Carolinas was on the agenda and was primarily tracked and analyzed through NORAD, she told reporters during a morning briefing. "Last year, we announced the upgrade to our continental defence and NORAD, about C$40 billion [$30 billion]," she added. "This incident highlights the importance of that initiative."

That upgrade focuses on improving NORAD’s ability to detect and track intrusions into North American airspace, the assistant secretary for homeland defence and hemispheric affairs told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) commended the U.S. Air Force personnel who shot down the unidentified object in Canadian airspace and called for a redoubling of efforts “to recover, exploit, and analyze the unidentified aircraft shot down over Alaska and Canada… to fully understand the nature of the threat we are facing right now,” in a tweet on Saturday.

The FAA announced late Saturday it had closed some airspace above Montana for Defense Department activities in a statement that said it had detected a “radar anomaly” and sent fighter jets to investigate what was identified that correlated to the radar hits, NORAD said.

Montana Sens. Steve Daines and John Tester said they were in contact with Pentagon officials over the incident.

Asked why there were seemingly more balloon downings and related incidents recently, a U.S. official said: “We are being more vigilant now.”

Recoveries of the Chinese balloon in the Atlantic and the unidentified craft over Alaska are still ongoing work in the High North is being hampered by adverse weather conditions.

White House and Pentagon officials still do not have a positive identification or country of origin for the object shot down over Alaska, a Chinese-made surveillance balloon like the one that was struck off the coast of South Carolina.

[sageglobalresponse]

US jet shoots down ‘unidentified object’ over Canada

A US fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Canada on Saturday — in a joint operation by the North American neighbours and the second such take-down in their skies since the dramatic downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon a week ago.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he ordered the takedown of the object, the latest of a series of mysterious air intrusions.

“Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled, and a US F-22 successfully fired at the object,” Trudeau tweeted Saturday.

Trudeau said that Canadian forces in the Yukon “will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object.”

He said he spoke with US President Joe Biden over the latest incursion, while Canada’s defence minister also said she spoke with US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin.

The two “reaffirmed that we’ll always defend our sovereignty together,” Canadian defence minister Anita Anand tweeted.

Saturday’s operation came after the United States said Wednesday that suspected Chinese spy balloons like the one it shot down were part of a “fleet” that has spanned five continents, as NATO joined in voicing concern

US and Canadian planes flew together to take on the object on Saturday, the US Department of Defence said.

“President Biden authorised US fighter aircraft assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to work with Canada to take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today,” Pentagon Spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement.

One of two F-22 fighter jets monitoring the object fired an AIM 9X missile that brought it down, it said.

The White House said Biden and Trudeau spoke Saturday, and “commended NORAD’s and US Northern Command’s strong and effective partnership and agreed to continue their close coordination to detect, track, and defend our airspace.”

The object taken out Saturday was shot down over the Yukon, which borders Alaska, where fighter jets downed another object Friday, off the US state’s north coast near the village of Deadhorse.

Search and recovery operations for the remains of that object continued Saturday but were hindered by Arctic “wind chill, snow, and limited daylight,” Northern Command said in a statement.

“Recovery activities are occurring on sea ice,” it said, adding that the Pentagon could offer “no further details… about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin.”

– Diplomatic riff –

Last month, a giant balloon carrying electronics — which the Pentagon described as a spy vessel —  flew over Canada and the United States, sparking a diplomatic flare-up with China, which acknowledged ownership of what it said was a harmless weather balloon blown off course.

That balloon crossed into US airspace in Alaska on January 28, traversing Canada and much of the United States — and prompting the scrapping of a rare trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken — before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina on February 4.

The balloon’s path took it over several US military installations, including ones with silos of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Biden’s decision to allow the balloon to cross the mainland unimpeded before shooting it down over water was hammered by Republican lawmakers, some of whom said it should have been shot down upon entering US airspace.

Federal recovery teams, comprising both divers and unmanned remote-control minisubs, continue to survey for debris of the balloon in shallow coastal waters, the Northern Command statement said.

US officials say images of the balloon show it had surveillance equipment that could intercept telecommunications as well as a solar array to power multiple sensors.

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