On January 28, 2023, a balloon was seen floating 60,000 feet above the continental United States. The head of the North American Aerospace Defence Command, General Glen VanHerck described the balloon as being around 200 feet high itself. These are just the facts that we know. The balloon has caused outrage across the United States, calling for a shoot down of the balloon itself. China’s foreign ministry provided no comment on the status of their involvement with the balloon, until the pressure mounted too much. They said that the balloon was in fact a “weather balloon” that had drifted off course into U.S. airspace. 

On February 4, the balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. This, however, didn’t end the U.S.’s troubles. The Navy immediately sprang into action, heading into the Atlantic to retrieve the pieces of the spy balloon. According to the government, several pieces of high-value equipment, with pieces like solar panels for energy, and tracking equipment, were retrieved from the ocean. But this was only the start of the several U.F.O shoot downs that have started a diplomatic crisis in our nation.

On February 10th, a fighter jet shot down an unidentified flying object over Alaska. The object was immediately destroyed and was most likely not a balloon, says the Defense Department. The White House then went on to comment about the object, saying it was the size of a small car. The object was heading towards the North Pole before the shootdown. Little to no information is available on many of these incidents, including this one.

On February 11th, just the next day, another U.F.O. was downed over Canada. This particular object was downed over the Yukon region of Canada, which borders Alaska. Canadian Officials described the object as, “cylindrical and smaller than the spy balloon.” Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, commented on the object. He claimed that it had “violated Canadian Airspace.” Mr. Trudeau took to Twitter after the incident. Claiming, “I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that entered Canadian airspace. NORAD Command shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.” Just like the February 10th U.F.O., no more information is available on the object. 

Finally, on February 12th, another U.F.O. was shot down over Lake Huron. This U.F.O. first appeared on February 11th in Montana, before being shot down in Wisconsin, above Lake Huron. The sudden move in the U.F.O.’s position prompted a chase between an F-16 and the object itself, going over the two states. NORAD closed Wisconsin airspace, so the jets could scramble. The object was octagonal, flying around 20,000 feet, and had strings hanging off it. Cockpit audio was released from the pilot of the F-16, and it is very interesting. The pilot discerns the octagonal shape of the U.F.O, and reports that no payload is apparent.

To be frank, this is a very interesting time for NORAD and the U.S. government. After the scare of the Chinese Spy Balloon, and more pressure and fear mounting after the U.F.O sightings, President Biden is considering a speech. After the balloon, the U.S. developed its radar technology, hence why so many U.F.Os are being found and shot down. This then poses the question, “How long has this been going on?” The answer to this question, and the answer to most questions about all of the sightings, is unknown. These sightings have confused everyone. The public, NORAD, and even the government. The government has no answers on the origin of the object, and are even not ruling out aliens. Whatever the cause of these U.F.Os are, it shows all parties involved one thing. The United States needs to be more prepared when dealing with our airspace. If these U.F.Os can break through our defenses, the result of a foreign enemy doing the same could be disastrous.