A USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet shot down an object on Feb. 12, 2023 over Lake Huron waters on the US side of the international border with Canada.
A US Air Force (USAF) F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet shot down an object on Feb. 12, 2023 over Lake Huron (Michigan) waters on the US side of the international border with Canada, according to US Rep. Jack Bergman’s office.
This time the Pentagon used an F-16 Viper that shot the object with an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile.
As reported by The Detroit News, Bergman, R-Watersmeet, described communication of government operations he received from the Department of Defense on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve been in contact with DOD regarding operations across the Great Lakes region today,” Bergman tweeted. “The US military has decommissioned another ‘object’ over Lake Huron. I appreciate the decisive action by our fighter pilots. The American people deserve far more answers than we have.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the object was “swiftly, safely and securely taken down.”
“Our national security and safety is always a top priority,” Whitmer tweeted. “I’ve been in contact with the federal government and our partners who were tracking an object near our airspace.”
Earlier Sunday afternoon, airspace over part of another Great Lake, Lake Michigan, was briefly closed for national defense purposes. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said that with the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a temporary flight restriction began at about noon Sunday “to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area.” A tweet, posted at 1:44 p.m., announced that the restriction had been lifted.
The FAA on Sunday told pilots the airspace was classified as national defense airspace, instructed them to avoid the area and leave immediately if already in it, warning them of possible administrative and criminal actions if the directive was not followed.
The latest turn in the aerial show taking place in the skies above North America comes after a helter-skelter weekend involving what at times seemed like an invasion of unidentified flying objects.
The episodes began on Feb. 4, with the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
On Saturday, an unidentified object flying over the Yukon in Canada was shot down, and a similar action was taken with an object flying over Alaska on Friday. Airspace over Montana was also briefly closed Saturday.
According to The New York Times, the incursions seemed to become so common that Biden administration officials have found themselves issuing private assurances that there is no evidence that they involve extraterrestrial activity. But officials also acknowledge privately that the longer they are unable to provide a public explanation for the provenance of the objects, the more speculation grows.
Photo credit: U.S. Air Force
