A US jet has shot down a 4th flying object over the United Sates and Canada, after Pentagon says it flew near sensitive military sites and was risk to civilian aircraft.
The take down is the fourth in just over a week and the third in as many days after objects were shot down in Alaska and Canada. The Pentagon believes the latest UFO is the blip that showed up on radar over Montana on Saturday. It was downed over Lake Huron in Michigan at 2.42pm local time on Sunday on President Joe Biden’s orders. A US F-16 jet fired a missile at about 20,000ft amid concerns that its altitude and flightpath could endanger civilian planes.
But what do these UFO’s mean for the UK?
Rishi Sunak will not comment on the specifics of national security, but aims to reassure the public UK airspace is protected after the US downed a fourth flying object in a week – the first of which belonged to Beijing. Beijing has admitted to one of the balloons coming from China, but insisted it was a “civilian airship”.
Asked if spy balloons could already have flown over the UK, transport minister Richard Holden said: “It’s possible. It’s also possible that – and I would think likely – that there will be people from the Chinese government trying to act as a hostile state. We saw it with Russia here in the UK with the Salisbury poisonings and other actions that they’ve taken.”
Speaking later, the prime minister said: “I want people to know we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe.
“We have something called the quick reaction alert force, which involves Typhoon planes which are kept on 24/7 readiness to police our airspace, which is incredibly important. I can’t obviously comment in detail on national security matters, but we are in constant touch with our allies – and as I said, we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed on Sunday that the government would be carrying out a security review into spy balloons.
He said he would work with the US and other close partners to look at intelligence and assess the threats they pose.
“The UK and her allies will review what these airspace intrusions mean for our security,” he said.
“This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse.”
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner welcomed the review, telling Sky News: “National security has got to be absolutely paramount.
“We have to remain vigilant and ensure that our military services and our security services have the support they need to deliver.”
China have since insisted the balloon was used for meteorological and other scientific research and had been blown off course. The object is believed to have flown over the Aleutian Islands, off the coast of Alaska, and through Canada before entering the US earlier this week.
In a statement on Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the shooting an “obvious overreaction” that “seriously violated international conventions”.
“China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response,” it added.