Biden says object shot down over Lake Huron is not from China

Southfield, Michigan (FOX 2) – After the U.S. military shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron, questions arose as to what the mysterious object was. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the object likely did not come from China, but rather is part of a private research project.

Biden remained silent on the issue of the three targets that were shot down on Friday off the coast of Alaska, on Saturday over Canada and on Sunday over Lake Huron. On Monday, the White House said seriously that there were no signs of “aliens or extraterrestrial activity.”

By Wednesday, U.S. officials said they were still working to find the wreckage but expected all three to be unrelated to the surveillance effort.

“We acted out of great caution. We had an opportunity that allowed us to safely remove these objects. Our military and the Canadian military are trying to recover the wreckage so we can learn about these three sites,” Biden said. “We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but there is no indication at this time that they were associated with the Chinese spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country.”

READ THE FOLLOWING: Object shot down over Lake Huron poses no threat to national security, Michigan congresswoman said.

“According to the intelligence community’s current assessment, these three sites were most likely balloons associated with private companies, recreation centers, scientific research institutions that study the weather or conduct other scientific research,” the president said.

Biden said that when he took office, he instructed the intelligence community to better track flying objects, but said they are usually research objects that are in the sky.

“I want to be clear: we have no evidence that the number of objects in the sky has increased dramatically. We’re just seeing more of them now, in part because of the steps we’ve taken. increase our radars,” Biden said. “Make no mistake, if any object poses a threat to the safety of the American people, I will destroy it.”

Biden said he would share secret policies and procedures with Congress, which he said would remain classified.

There are still unresolved questions about the original balloon, including what kind of spying capabilities it had and whether it transmitted signals as it flew over secret military installations in the United States. According to a US official, US intelligence believed it was originally on its way to US territory of Guam.

The US tracked him for days after he left China, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. It appears to have strayed from its original trajectory and ended up flying over the US mainland, the official said.

Balloons and other unidentified objects have previously been sighted over Guam, the strategic center of the US Navy and Air Force in the Western Pacific.

It is unclear how much China retained control of the balloon after it deviated from its original trajectory. A second US official said the balloon could have been maneuvered outside or directed to hover over a specific target, but it is not clear if Chinese forces did so.

After the balloon was shot down, the White House reported that such balloons crossed the United States at least three times during the administration of President Donald Trump, which Trump and his aides were not aware of, and that others flew over dozens of countries in five continents. On Monday, Kirby stressed that they were only discovered by the Biden administration.