Mystery surrounds objects shot down by US military

[ClearSky24]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64620064

The US military is unsure what three flying objects it shot out of the skies over North America were - and how they were able to stay aloft.

President Joe Biden ordered another object - the fourth in total this month - to be downed on Sunday.

As it was traveling at 20,000ft (6,100m), it could have interfered with commercial air traffic, the US said.

A military commander said it could be a "gaseous type of balloon" or "some type of a propulsion system".

He added he could not rule out that the objects were extra-terrestrials.

The latest object - shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan near the Canadian border - has been described by defence officials as an unmanned "octagonal structure" with strings attached to it.

It was downed by a missile fired from an F-16 fighter jet at 14:42 local time (19:42 GMT).

US Northern Command Commander General Glen VanHerck said that there was no indication of any threat.

"I'm not going to categorise them as balloons. We're calling them objects for a reason," he said.

"What we are seeing is very, very small objects that produce a very, very low radar cross-section," he added.

Speculation as to what the objects may be has intensified in recent days.

"I will let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out," Gen VanHerck said when asked if it was possible the objects are aliens or extra-terrestrials.

"I haven't ruled out anything at this point."

[Buckeye_Democrat]

1. Weather balloons?

National Weather Service:
https://www.weather.gov/bmx/kidscorner_weatherballoons#

Twice a day, every day of the year, weather balloons are released simultaneously from almost 900 locations worldwide! This includes 92 released by the National Weather Service in the US and its territories. The balloon flights last for around 2 hours, can drift as far as 125 miles away, and rise up to over 100,000 ft. (about 20 miles) in the atmosphere!

[Irish_Dem]

3. If there are so many, how come we are only noticing them now?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

5. I'm just tossing out a possibility...

... despite how I'd consider it embarrassing if our military is now shooting down weather balloons.

Radar has supposedly been tweaked to more easily detect slow-moving objects like balloons, after the recent Chinese balloon incident.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Do you know if weather balloons have communication jammers?

USAF pilots reporting objects were interfering with their coms.

Yes of course it is good to be thinking about what the heck is going on.

Many of us are doing the same thing.

I am just asking questions too.

I suppose it is possible the USAF has missed weather balloons if they are typically
at 100,000 ft?

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. I heard there were different reports...

... from pilots during the downing of the object near Alaska. At least one believed it interfered with electronics.

I don't know much, beyond what I've heard from media reports.

I have to hurry to get ready for work now.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Thanks!

[Disaffected]

25. "USAF pilots reporting objects were interfering with their coms."

Which could have been equipment malfunction or interference from other sources.

These releases of bits & drabs of ambiguous info are not helpful. We don't even have any close-up photos supposedly taken and further details of the Atlantic downed balloon have still not been released.

And statements to the effect that we cannot rule out extraterrestrial objects just add to the speculation and confusion.

[Irish_Dem]

26. Yep. We have little real information, along with misinformation and downright government nonsense.

[JHB]

15. ARE we just noticing them now? Or did civilians just notice them now?

My thought is that the big dividing line is that the public knows about them now, so they've become a PR problem.

[Irish_Dem]

17. Yes certainly would have been kept highly classified.

Right PR problem now, and we will be told nothing or spoon fed some BS.

[Bear Creek]

19. Description given

The cylinder shot down over Alaska and the octagon shot down over the Great Lakes had no visible means of propulsion. Also they interfered with the aircraft's sensors.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/glen-vanherck-objects-aliens_n_63e9e551e4b022eb3e313e54
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/glen-vanherck-objects-aliens_n_63e9e551e4b022eb3e313e54

[NanceGreggs]

4. Pure speculation on my part ...

... but I think these UFOs being taken down are Jewish Space Lasers, Italian satellites that flipped Trump votes to Biden votes in the 2000 election, and/or Mike Lindell's 'cyber guys' who are being targeted before they can expose how Kari Lake's election loss was due to yet another rigged election.


for those who find it necessary.

[2naSalit]

9. Now there's a...

story line that has possibilities!

[Model35mech]

10. The descriptions like the above fail for me.

I really can't get my head around them.

An octagon is in its essence 2 dimensional geometric form. So is a circle, a triangle, a square.

The easiest geometry to communicate would be length of sides, overall width and area.

To say something is an octagon is to trivialize its thickness a character which together with measurement in 2 other dimensions allows for consideration of VOLUME. The above description doesn't communicate the amount of VOLUME involved. When they say BALLOON, it implies lighter-than-air craft. Volume would be useful to have an idea about the lifting power of any lighter than air gas in the things. Our common experience with helium party balloons communicates that the gasbag lifting solar panels, inverters, batteries, communications equipment must be quite LARGE compared to the vehicles weight.

And evidence of volume would be useful in estimating the amount of space (and weight) available for whatever 'payload' is being carried inside.

A two dimensional octagon, of any common foil, or plastic isn't going to have much strength to resist folding in high winds, and it's unlikely to displace enough atmosphere to float as a lighter than air craft in the atmosphere.

[EYESORE 9001]

11. I'm reminded that some scientists are amazed that the bumblebee can fly at all

Until we get more info on this thing (assuming we get any more info at all), it’s all speculation.

[Irish_Dem]

13. We may never get more info, speculation is all we can do.

Americans would be foolish not to ask some questions.

[EYESORE 9001]

16. Yep. That was a major concern of mine.

Seems like a couple of years ago, a Navy fighter plane ran alongside a black, cylindrical object traveling at extremely high speed, apparently tumbling but maintaining control. There was video that hasn’t been debunked AFAIK.

[Irish_Dem]

18. Pilots have been reporting this stuff for decades.

The public never gets any answers.

[Irish_Dem]

12. Model35, what do you think it is then?

If the shape is not conducive to speculated purposes, what purpose would better explain the shape?

[EYESORE 9001]

20. Like the bumblebee, it still flies

I’m not gonna knock the design unless I know of a better one. Robert Lazar may know of something better - more so than internet randos. BTW…WTF ever happened with Robert Lazar? Abducted?

[Model35mech]

27. I think they are purposefully ill-described

Officers in the US military must have college degrees and pilots use geometry all the time.

I am sure there are better descriptions, and I'd bet a large sum of money that there are color and other spectrum photos.

For some reason the public is being treated like mushrooms... kept in the dark and fed composted horseshit

[Irish_Dem]

28. I agree we are being fed disinformation right now.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

14. Kill em all! " The only good bug is a DEAD bug!": Johnny Rico, Starship Trooper

[Layzeebeaver]

21. The single greatest piece of information people seem to be forgetting...

..is that the air and space defence orgs have "re-tuned" the radar detection system.

I don't know the details, I'm not a radar systems engineer.

But any system can't do ALL things well. Typically, NORAD (or whatever it's called these days) operates a radar system to detect inbound enemy bombers and ballistic missiles.

Flocks of birds generate a radar signature, so the systems have to be tuned to ignore slow moving blips. We're only looking for planes and missiles - stuff that has a fast moving signature.

So, it just so happens that the Chinese know this (go figure. Wonder how THAT happened?). Anyway, so over the past 6 years, they pour money into developing stealth balloon tech - and deploy in globally in the skys. No radar system is tuned to look for it and it just hangs about doing its thing.

And then one gets spotted. Quick! change the tuning on the radar!! Wait, holy shit there's more than one? Shoot first ask questions later.

And so it goes...

[Jrose]

22. The My Pillow guy...

Was full of so much hot air that his newly inflated 'bubble' and 'geometric' pillows flew way off.
(Just can't keep his lying down!)

[DFW]

23. A gaseous type of balloon? Three obvious possibilities come to mind:

The bloated egos of Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz.

They should by flying at somewhere up around that altitude.

[Chainfire]

24. It is interesting that it is such a big secret.

The people that launched them knew exactly what they were, but we are not allowed to. The "objects" apparently are being found only over North America, I would think that even a stupid general could laugh at the suggestion that they may be extra-terrestrial. The Occam's Razor principle comes into play here. The most likely source is China poking its fingers in our eyes just because they can. Our country is treating us like mushrooms in this situation and I don't appreciate it.

[Model35mech]

29. a report last friday suggested they were also over south am.

I wish I had bookmarked that for you but I didn't.

[Chainfire]

30. I heard one was seen over Mexico, but missed any over S.A.

[Model35mech]

31. Maybe that's the one i heard of, but I didn't remember it as Mexico

[EX500rider]

32. News said Colombia spotted one also. nt