US fighters down airborne 'object' over Lake Huron: Lawmakers

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
12 Feb 22:25
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The Federal Aviation Administration earlier designated the restricted area over Lake Michigan as "national defense airspace."

An F-22 fighter downing the Chinese balloon by a missile off Myrtle Beach on Feb. 4, 2023 (AP)

The US Air Force downed an unidentified flying object on Sunday over Lake Huron in Michigan, according to two lawmakers.

The shooting down event marks the fourth over US territory in less than a week.

"The object has been downed by pilots from the US Air Force and National Guard," Representative Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said in a tweet.

The object has been downed by pilots from the US Air Force and National Guard. Great work by all who carried out this mission both in the air and back at headquarters. We’re all interested in exactly what this object was and it’s purpose. 1/ https://t.co/LsjwtjntCv
— Rep. Elissa Slotkin (@RepSlotkin) February 12, 2023

Jack Bergman, another Michigan representative, also said on his Twitter accounts that "the US military has decommissioned an "object" over Lake Huron."

"The American people deserve far more answers than we have," he added.

I’ve been in contact with DOD regarding operations across the Great Lakes region today.

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.
— Rep. Jack Bergman (@RepJackBergman) February 12, 2023

This comes as the US authorities temporarily closed the airspace over Lake Michigan on Sunday to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during unspecified operations of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

The Department of Defense announced it will be carrying out activities to counter a potential unidentified ariel threat.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that "temporary flight restrictions" were imposed over the lake near the Canadian border, calling the area "national defense airspace."

"The FAA briefly closed some airspace over Lake Michigan to support Department of Defense activities. The airspace has been reopened," the agency told AFP.

NEW: A new NOTAM has been posted and a Temporary Flight Restriction enacted until further notice in far northern Lake Michigan. This is once again National Defense Airspace.#balloongate continued? pic.twitter.com/BbN4WIRD3K
— Nick Stewart (@NStewCBS2) February 12, 2023

This comes just one day after Canada confirmed that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) shot down the object over Yukon, however, the nature of the object is still not clear nor if it is related to the Chinese balloon from last week or the object shot down over Alaska on Friday.

"Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a Tweet.

Also yesterday, the airspace over Montana was also restricted over a "radar anomaly" but was soon cleared as no object was discovered.

The Lake Michigan incident was the latest in a series of aerial potential threats since last January.

On January 28, the first Chinese balloon to be publicly reported was detected over the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Alaska, before it was found floating over missile sites in Montana. Days later, after tracking, the US decided to shoot it down over the South Carolina coast.

While the US has claimed that the balloons are used for spying purposes by Beijing, China said they are used for weather surveillance and they had mistakenly entered US airspace due to a force majeure.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said then that "China... never violated the territory and airspace of any sovereign country," adding that "some politicians and media in the United States used the (balloon) incident as a pretext to attack and smear China."