These are words we never imagined we’d be reporting at Detroit Metro Times: According to officials, a U.S. F-16 jet shot down an unidentified flying object over Lake Huron on Sunday.
The object is the fourth “high-altitude object” decommissioned by Air Force jets in North America in recent days, following incidents in airspace over Alaska, Canada’s northern Yukon territory, and South Carolina.
“Our national security and safety is always a top priority,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tweeted Sunday. “I’ve been in contact with the federal government and our partners who were tracking an object near our airspace. I’m glad to report it has been swiftly, safely, and securely taken down. The @MINationalGuard stands ready.”
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters tweeted that he’s “been in touch with the Pentagon, DHS, and FAA regarding the closure of air space over the Great Lakes” and said he will “continue pressing [the Department of Defense] for transparency.” U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin said, “We’ll know more about what this was in the coming days, but for now, be assured that all parties have been laser-focused on it from the moment it traversed our waters.”
U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman acknowledged that much remains unknown. “The American people deserve far more answers than we have,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The increasing incidents of unidentified objects, the latest over Lake Huron in Michigan airspace, are disturbing,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell said in a statement. “We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing. Our national security is of the utmost importance and we must work in a bipartisan way with this Administration and all relevant partners for answers and the appropriate reaction. I’m thankful to the Air Force, National Guard, and all our military forces who are working vigilantly to keep us safe.”
The recent incidents in Michigan, Alaska, and Canada follow the discovery of a Chinese surveillance balloon that entered North America through Alaskan air space and floated over the continental U.S. before being downed on Feb. 4. President Joe Biden was criticized by Republicans for not taking action on the balloon sooner, and has ordered the other objects to be swiftly shot down.
China has denied responsibility for the balloon. U.S. officials say China spies on military sites across the globe using such balloons.
The object downed over Michigan was described by officials as shaped like an octagon, while the ones over Alaska and Canada were described as “cylindrical.” It is not clear if the objects are related to the Chinese surveillance balloon or to each other.
Officials say they are still retrieving wreckage from all four downed objects to better understand them.
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