Live updates: Unidentified airborne object shot down near Lake -Won't talk about if they have interfered with sensors, as has been reported. Two U.S. House members from Michigan, Republican Rep. Jack Bergman and Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, confirmed earlier on Sunday that pilots from the Air Force and National Guard had taken out the object above Lake Huron. Today, a high-altitude object was detected in US airspace over Lake Huron," Anand said. WebF-16 Shoots Down Octagonal Object Over Lake Huron (Updated) For the third time in three days, an unknown object has been shot down, a U.S. Rep. from Michigan said The US military does not have new information on the country of origin or the physical or mechanical properties of the three objects downed over North America in the past three days, Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander of the US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, told reporters Sunday. Senator Chuck Schumer says the two objects shot down on Friday and Saturday were balloons, stating "They believe they were, yes. Officials are searching for the pilot of an F-16 military plane that Are these objects unmanned aircraft unleashed to spy on the U.S.? These objects shot down on Friday and Saturday were objects and did not closely resemble the [Peoples Republic of China] balloon, Sabrina Singh said. F-16 pilot who crashed in Michigan pronounced dead - ABC News A Navy P-8 and helicopters are looking, but they do not have it now. Copyright AFP 2017-2023. Defense officials on Sunday night declined to identify what the three objects shot down over the weekend might be. The Russians are Coming!, crashed on a routine training mission Dec. 8. folks in Texas were seriously worried about commandos gearing up to take over the country. Demerly is an experienced parachutist, holds advanced SCUBA certifications, has climbed the highest mountains on three continents and visited all seven continents and has flown several types of light aircraft. Ryder also said the object was the same one that radar detected on Saturday over Montana that caused airspace to briefly close Saturday evening. They have adjusted some of those filter 'gates' including velocity and altitude gates to see what was out there after the Chinese balloon incident. Another high-altitude object was shot down Sunday afternoon, this one over Lake Huron in Michigan, three U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News, marking the latest in a string of such incidents. We will add further details once we parse the entire transcript. Getting investigators to the remote crash site can take up to a week, Commander Bart Van Roo said on December 11. The temporary flight restrictions have since been lifted.. -NORAD began scrutinizing airspace more deeply since the Chinese balloon saga last week and 'enhancing our radar.'. WebAn F-16 fighter jet on a routine training mission crashed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula Tuesday night, the Wisconsin National Guard said. On Jan. 30, 2020, the first of two [], The10-mile long Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT) is a United States Air Force aerospace ground test facility used to perform a various variety of tests, including simulated ejections. Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said Sunday her country supported the shooting down of an object over US airspace by US fighter jets near Lake Huron. A US F-22 fighter jet shot down a "high-altitude object" over frozen Arctic Ocean waters near the Canadian border, about 10 miles off the north coast of Alaska. Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, said he was certain that the initial episode, the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon off the U.S. East Coast on Feb. 4, was clearly a balloon. AFP and its logo are registered trademarks. It also comes a little more than a week after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina after traversing the U.S. The same claim can also be found in this article, and on Facebook here and here. -They had extra intelligence that the large balloon taken down off South Carolina was from China. The Pentagon confirmed Sunday that an F-16 fighter jet shot down the airborne object over Lake Huron in the afternoon. This is in a sense information warfare, Dave Lapan a retired Marine colonel who served in several public affairs roles, including at the departments of defense and homeland security told Military Times. WebOn Monday, the Twitter handle @stormis_us posted that The F-16 in Michigan was shot down and I now believe that 50,000 Chinese troops were in fact bombed and killed by They hope to "share more in the coming days.". We will update this story with any information they provide. Located at Holloman Air Force Base, []. -No other objects are being tracked now. Federal and state lawmakers in Michigan on Sunday recognized the US military's role in the takedown of an airborne object over Lake Huron earlier in the day. The article included a YouTube video showing dozens of Asian individuals in military fatigues walking along a road in British Columbias Salt Spring Island, on Canadas West Coast. A Chinese surveillance balloon was taken down by F-22s off the coast of South Carolina last weekend. Wikipedia As the other pilot was responding, Joness jet drew farther away from his wingman. The pilot, Captain Harry 'Mike' Roberts, ejected safely, but was taken prisoner. A Russian warplane has been shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter jets, purportedly after it violated Turkish air space. US fighter jets shot down an airborne object over Lake Huron on Sunday and an unidentified object over northern Canada a day earlier. STEUBEN, Mich. (AP) A Wisconsin-based fighter jet crashed in a national forest in Michigans Upper Peninsula while on a training mission and searchers The North American Aerospace Defense Command felt that taking gunshots at the objects shot down Saturday and Sunday, in an attempt to better preserve them for examination on the ground, was unachievable, in part due to the relatively small size of those objects. Victor Garcia, a retired Army colonel who most recently served as chief of information operations for U.S. Special Operations Command until winding down his career in June, agreed. Around 340 F-16s have been destroyed in mishaps since 1975, with at least 130 fatalities, according to the Air Force Safety Center. The video is not from 2020 and does not show a Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) battalion training less than 100 miles from the US border. This mistrust has been compounded, he said, by so-called militias and law enforcement dressed up like troops during recent public unrest across the nation. airspace by US aircraft.". More info coming out now that the octagonal object had strings hanging from it but no payload on them as reported by CNN: The full statement from the DoD, this seems to have been the same object picked up on radar over Montana but that F-15s couldn't find on arrival: "Today at 2:42 p.m., at the direction of President Biden, and based on the recommendations of Secretary Austin and military leadership, an F-16 fired an AIM9x to successfully shoot down an airborne object flying at approximately 20,000 feet altitude in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron in the State of Michigan. The Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing announced his death Friday morning, The US military has decommissioned another object over Lake Huron. Body found of pilot of Air National Guard F-16 that crashed in In Operation Desert Storm of 1991, 249 USAF F-16s flew 13,340 sorties in strikes against Iraq, the most of any Coalition aircraft. It still applies today: For the moment we cant but notice the trend is concerning. And yet, not only are there no formations of Chinese troops in Canada, but the F-16, which belonged to the Wisconsin Air National Guard, crashed on a routine training mission Dec. 8, killing the pilot, Capt. Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) February 11, 2023. National Guard F-16 Pilot Most probably, ROE (Rules of Engagement) have also been changed, leading to early decommission of the unidentified object. -They won't officially categorize them as balloons or as having some type of a propulsion system, although there could be a gaseous envelope inside. We do not train with the PLA, Le Bouthillier saidby email. They say the timing in the intel after the Chinese balloon incident caused this to occur, before they didn't see a need then. We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. WebShot down in Desert Storm from an SA-6. WebThe first one was the famous Chinese high altitude balloon shot down on February 4, 2023, at 2:39 p.m. by an F-22 Raptor, belonging to the 1st Fighter Wing from Langley Air Force Turner said the episodes spoke to a larger issue of airspace defense for the U.S., including inadequate radar and a lack of an integrated missile defense system. Most reports have the two losses of F-16's from this squadron switched on this date. On Saturday, Canadas chief of defense staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, also made mention of a balloon when describing instructions given to the team that worked to take down the object. They believe they were, yes, but much smaller than the than the one the first one, Schumer said on ABCs This Week. Both objects shot down this week flew at 40,000 feet, so immediately it was determined they posed a threat to commercial aircraft, which fly at the same level, Schumer said. An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the Wisconsin Air National Guards 115th Fighter Wing from Truax Field Air National Guard Base outside Madison, Wisconsin, crashed Tuesday night at approximately 20.00 Local Time near Stevens Lake close to the border of Delta County in the center of Michigans upper peninsula. Investigators found the crash occurred because Jones lost his bearings in flight and could not spatially reorient himself after trying to right the plane when it lost GPS navigational data. It said: Canada and China signed a treaty that allows the Peoples Liberation Army of China to station Chinese troops in Canada, beginning in 2020., Daniel Le Bouthillier, a spokesman for Canadas Department of National Defense, said by email, Not much to say except that it isnt true.. F-16 shot down CHICAGO -- The first missile that was launched by an F-16 fighter jet at the object near Lake Huron on Sunday did not hit the target, three people briefed on the matter told CNN. We have images of the F-16Cs from the 148th FW "Bulldogs" that scrambled against the target out of Madison earlier in the day recovering after their mission. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. The pilot ejected safely and The Air Force announced that the 115th FW was one of two Air National Guard wings selected to operate the F-35 Lightning II in December 2017. The Pentagon confirmed Sunday that an F-16 fighter jet shot down an airborne object over Lake Huron earlier in the day. Defense officials on Sunday night declined to identify what the three objects shot down over the weekend might be, raising questions over the threat the objects could have represented to civilians across North America, what the purpose of the objects was, and why there has been a rash of detections and responses with fighter planes and guided missiles. I would offer that when you look at the response by some of our European partners to the Russian incursion into Ukraine, that is a perfect example of what I am talking about with policy paralysis, he said. If this information is not generated by them, it is at least amplified, said Lapan, adding that nations like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran use social media to generate unrest in the U.S. The gallery of adversaries are all involved in information warfare against us, said Lapan, now vice president of communications for the Bipartisan Policy Center. Location of the crash site was in a section of Iraq that the US Marines had occupied. President Joe Biden ordered the object to be shot down. North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the object Sunday morning and has maintained visual and radar tracking of it. There is no evidence to indicate they contributed to the mishap.. He As you can see, one of the jets, 91-0405 "AESIR11," is landing with its underwing station that would carry an AIM-9X empty. -Each object of interest is taken on a case-by-case basis as far as to shoot them down or not. That was still in effect as of 3:30 P.M. EST. What I think this shows, which is probably more important to our policy discussion here, is that we really have to declare that were going to defend our airspace. They will have to give an assessment now. Web(TNS) Dec. 11WASHINGTON The Air National Guard pilot killed in an F-16 crash Tuesday in a remote area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula was a 37-year-old combat Two radio monitors have informed us that a pair of 148th Fighter Wing "Bulldogs" F-16C/Ds launched out of Madison, Wisconsin, at around 10:30 A.M. under the AESIR callsign on an alert scramble that turned into a live intercept. Leslie Westmont, a wing public affairs officer. Durwood "Hawk" Jones, a Wisconsin Air National Guard pilot, died in December 2020, when his F-16 crashed in Michigan during a nighttime training exercise. An unidentified object was shot down over northern Canada on Saturday. As for the howitzers, the real story is hardly as compelling as armor being rushed to the border to stave off the ChiComs. WebRemains of F-16C #87-0257 from the 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron 'Lucky Devils', shot down over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. A DoD press conference was delayed an hour but should start soon, which we will report back on. We need to fill those as soon as possible because we certainly now ascertain there is a threat.. I have not seen it mentioned anywhere that the mysterious Lake Huron balloon was passing very,very near the Selfridge Air Force base in the area just south of Port Huron, MI. Banana Joe Clemente, the Salt Spring resident confirmed via Facebook that he filmed the scene on March 17, 2018 and posted it on YouTube more than two years ago. The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking after receiving a briefing from national security adviser Jake Sullivan on the objects from Friday and Saturday, said on Sunday that U.S. national security officials believed them to be balloons. An airborne object was shot down Sunday near Lake Huron, marking the fourth time in roughly a week that US aircraft have shot something down in North American airspace. shot down China The plane crashed near the Shakarparian area A Pakistan Air Force (PAF) F-16 fighter jet has crashed near a park in the capital Islamabad, killing the pilot. Demerly studied journalism at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan. He was a current and qualified F-16 pilot who had logged more than 1,300 hours flying rated aircraft and more than 1,000 hours in the F-16C including more than 240 in combat and over 300 at night. -Will not say if they will release targeting pod video, as it is a policy decision. The object shot down Sunday by US fighter jets was flying at 20,000 feet over Michigans Upper Peninsula and about to go over Lake Huron when it was neutralized, a senior administration official told CNN. Ukrainian dissidents? In this current environment, you have a lack of credibility and mistrust, said Lapan, adding that domestic public affairs personnel are now having to deal with the kinds of issues faced by their colleagues downrange. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. WebThe pilot of an F-16 Fighting Falcon that crashed earlier this week in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has been found dead, the Air National Guard announced Thursday. Other accounts used pictures of howitzers on a train in Maine, which first surfaced in October, as proof that the U.S. military was responding to a Chinese incursion into Canada RUMINT that bubbled up via some delusional trainspotter that was then knocked down by the local CBS affiliate. Clearing airspace, pilots check for mariners and aircraft in the vicinity, then the pilots used the best weapon they think will work. President Joe Biden gave the order to take out the object based on the recommendations of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and military leadership, according to a Defense Department statement. The Maine National Guard also dispelled the conspiracy. Maybe. The FAA briefly closed some airspace over Lake Michigan to support Department of Defense activities, the FAA said in an email to The War Zone Sunday. DoD officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The more narrow filters were meant to allow NORAD and defense officials to better make sense of the mass of data that was being collected on any particular day, the source said. From CNN's Natasha Bertrand, Arlette Saenz and Phil Mattingly. One F-16 knocked it down with a Sidewinder missile over Lake Huron, where it likely fell into Canadian waters, VanHerck said. F-16 Shoots Down "Octagonal Object" Over Lake Huron (Updated) They cannot attribute some of them over the years. Recent posts from a QAnon-backing Twitter handle with nearly 50,000 followers claimed that tens of thousands of Chinese troops had amassed along Maines border with Canada and that an F-16 fighter that crashed last week in Michigan was actually shot down presumably by the Chinese. The object was flying at 20,000 feet over Michigans Upper Peninsula when it was shot down. Theres no indication at this point that the unidentified objects have any connection to Chinas surveillance balloon but it seems that national security officials across the continent remain on edge. Republican Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan also confirmed the operation Sunday, tweeting, The US military has decommissioned another object over Lake Huron.. She added in a later tweet: Were all interested in exactly what this object was and its purpose., Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) tweeted: Im glad the object was neutralized over Lake Huron and Ill continue pressing DoD for transparency.. There were no reports of planes dropping bombs.. The airspace has been reopened.. Its certainly a new, recent development that you have China being so aggressive in entering other countries airspace and doing so for clear intentions to spy, with very sophisticated equipment, he said. The Today, a high-altitude object was detected in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron. Because we have not yet been able to definitively assess what these recent objects are, we have acted out of an abundance of caution to protect our security and interests, Dalton said. This is something we usually deal with from adversaries. But beyond dragging a decorated combat veteran pilot into this mess, the danger in these kinds of conspiracy theories lies in the mistrust these posts sow, Lapan said. A review of the [F-16Cs] active and historical maintenance records revealed two unscheduled maintenance events during the 90 days preceding the mishap, including replacements of three coaxial connector and the embedded GPS, the report added. In October 2020, Turner published another article claiming that China was amassing tens-of-thousands of troops in Canada. That's my assessment and continues to be today, he added. The downing was announced by a Congressman on Twitter. (QAnon has, in recent years, become an increasingly dangerous conspiracy theory claiming, among other outlandish things, that President Donald Trump is fighting a horde of deep state pedophiles.). Copyright 2023 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes Additionally, we are doing everything possible to assist and support the ongoing investigation.. I would prefer them to be trigger-happy than to be permissive, Turner said of the Biden administration, speaking on CNNs State of the Union. But were going to have to see whether or not this is just the administration trying to change headlines., Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press that he had real concerns about why the administration is not more forthcoming.. On Friday, an unidentified object. Pentagon press secretary Brig. Joness Fighting Falcon swapped positions with his wingman before flying into clouds. A huge thanks to him! The operation marks the third day in a row that an unidentified object was shot down over North American airspace. The jet crashed An unidentified object was shot down over northern Canada on Saturday, and on Friday, an unidentified object was shot down in Alaska airspace by a US F-22. These objects did not closely resemble and were much smaller than the PRC balloon and we will not definitively characterize them until we can recover the debris, which we are working on, a National Security Council spokesperson said, referring to the suspected Chinese spy balloon. The issue was amplified after popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson discussed the topic with Ezra Levant, the editor-in-chief of the Rebel News website. It would be practically impossible for 50,000 troops to be in the Robbinston Maine area without being observed by someone, he added. Gen. Pat Ryder said the object was not assessed to be a military threat, but it was a flight hazard. Theres no indication at this point that the unidentified objects have any connection to Chinas surveillance balloon but it seems that national security officials across the continent remain on edge. "NORAD launched Canadian and US aircraft to investigate and the object was taken down in US. All rights reserved. The object was shot down on Sunday, and recovery efforts with the US Coast Guard are ongoing, VenHerck said. He scrambled F-15 fighters and a KC-135 tanker to go investigate, and the object crossed into US airspace a few hours later, he said. More recently, Candian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government has been questioned about the Canadian armys training of Chinese troops. All of this goes into the risk assessment as to how to act against a target of interest. Another unknown object was shot down, this time over Lake Huron, according to U.S. Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Jack Bergman of Michigan. An Israeli F-16 fighter jet has crashed amid Syrian anti-aircraft fire after an offensive against Iranian targets in Syria, the Israeli military says. The plane was destroyed and its pilot killed when it crashed into the ground possibly because of an illusion known as the graveyard spiral.. A KC-135 Stratotanker from the 171st Air Refueling Wing was making orbits over the Great Lakes Sunday. UPDATE (WKOW) -- The search for the pilot from the Madison-based F-16 Fighter that crashed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula continues Wednesday morning. The American people deserve far more answers than we have. This is a huge deal. WebCapt. They could be out there, but they need to look back at old data to see if they were missing these recently. There was no indication of health issues or intoxication. After the generals remarks, a Defense official who requested anonymity to speak about a developing situation said that there is no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns.. An unidentified objectwas shot down over northern Canadaon Saturday.