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UFOs? Airborne objects? What we know about 4 recent shootdowns
NPR ^ | 02/16/2023 | BILL CHAPPELL

Posted on 02/14/2023 7:51:56 AM PST by BenLurkin

Feb. 12: Lake Huron

Location and altitude: The object was around 20,000 feet, soaring near the eastern portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It was shot down over Lake Huron, "about 15 nautical miles east of the Upper Peninsula," VanHerck said.

Size and shape: "It presented as an octagonal structure with strings hanging off but no discernable payload," a senior Biden administration official said.

What shot it down: An F-16, firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.

Reason given: "We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground," the North American Aerospace Defense Command said, "but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities."

Recovery effort: "Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more," NORAD said. The location of the shootdown, the unit says, was chosen both to limit risks to people and to boost the chance of recovering debris.

Feb. 11: Yukon, Canada

Location and altitude: Approximately 40,000 feet, in Canada's central Yukon, after crossing the border from Alaska. The shootdown took place around 100 miles from the U.S.-Canada line.

Size and shape: Early indications showed "this object is potentially similar" to the one shot down off the South Carolina coast, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said, adding that it was "smaller in size and cylindrical."

What shot it down: An F-22 fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, said Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary.

Reason given: "The object ... had unlawfully entered Canadian airspace [and] posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight," Anand said.

Recovery effort: "Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. The effort includes the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Special Operations Forces, with the FBI acting as a liaison.

Feb. 10: Alaskan coast

Location and altitude: It was at 40,000 feet, over Prudhoe Bay along Alaska's northern coast.

Size and shape: "The object was about the size of a small car," Ryder told reporters, adding that it was "not similar in size or shape to the high-altitude surveillance balloon" from the previous weekend.

What shot it down: An F-22 fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.

Reason given: It "posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight," Ryder said.

Recovery effort: "Recovery activities are occurring on sea ice," as allowed by Arctic weather, limited daylight and other conditions, the U.S. Northern Command said on Saturday.

Feb. 4: South Carolina coast

Size and shape: The balloon was estimated to be up to 200 feet tall. Of the payload, VanHerck said, "I would categorize that as a jet airliner type of size, maybe a regional jet," with a weight of more than 2,000 pounds.

Location and altitude: The balloon famously crossed much of the continental U.S. before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean, near Myrtle Beach, S.C. It was flying between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.

What shot it down: An F-22 Raptor using an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.

Reason given: The large intruder was part of a "fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries," a senior U.S. defense official told reporters.

Recovery effort: Some wreckage from the balloon was gathered from the Atlantic Ocean's surface. Divers and remote-operated vehicles were also used in "the retrieval of additional debris from the sea floor," according to the U.S. Northern Command. The FBI is involved, taking custody of debris as it's brought onshore.

On Thursday morning, a U.S. Navy Landing Craft Air Cushion — basically a high-capacity hovercraft — parked on a beach to retrieve a range of supplies and food for the crew, from fresh produce to Chick-Fil-A and a birthday cake, local paper The Sun News reports.


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: balloon; balloongate; balloons; spyballoon; uap; ufo
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Excerpted for sake of brevity
1 posted on 02/14/2023 7:51:56 AM PST by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

I wonder what the “strings hanging off it” actually means. Strings as in tethers, ropes, or cables? Strings would be invisible to pilots during fly-bys.


2 posted on 02/14/2023 7:56:37 AM PST by RoosterRedux
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To: BenLurkin

Word on the street is that Rudolf and his sleigh team have not returned from a training flight scheduled to fly over Alaska and Canada.

Atreides family children are horrified that this is getting so little attention.


3 posted on 02/14/2023 7:58:32 AM PST by House Atreides (I’m now ULTRA-MAGA. -PRO-MAX)
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To: BenLurkin

How about focusing on the balloon with the large array that was allowed to traverse CONUS, NPR?


4 posted on 02/14/2023 7:58:54 AM PST by Tench_Coxe
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To: BenLurkin
BenLurkin, this meme (cartoon? not sure what to call it) that YOU posted a day or two ago captures the zeitgeist perfectly. I think it ranks among the best of these... whatchamacallits of all time.


5 posted on 02/14/2023 7:59:02 AM PST by Nervous Tick (Truth is not hate speech.)
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To: BenLurkin

If everyone puts on their history ‘hats’....about a decade ago, the US military was all hyped up to get surveillance ‘blimps’. A developmental project started up.

I would wager....12 months into the project...someone left the company, and went overseas to provide the characteristics and insider info to a Chinese company.

This is simply recon balloons with some payload capability....probably shooting images, and relaying them to a 5G tower somewhere and being sent quietly back to a server in China.


6 posted on 02/14/2023 7:59:33 AM PST by pepsionice
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To: RoosterRedux
Sounds like it was some amateur project...

strings or cords are often used by helpers to hold/maneuver a lighter than air craft.

7 posted on 02/14/2023 8:00:04 AM PST by marktwain
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To: Nervous Tick

Information is a good thing.


8 posted on 02/14/2023 8:02:44 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: RoosterRedux

“ I wonder what the “strings hanging off it” actually means”
*************************************************

6 or 7 foot sections of narrow strips of aluminum foil cut from a commercial roll of aluminum foil. Good to make a larger radar image and to MAKE THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LOOKS LIKE THE IDIOTS THEY ARE,

I’ve never seen such a HUGE OVERREACTION to follow and compensate for a HUGE UNDERREACTION.


9 posted on 02/14/2023 8:07:31 AM PST by House Atreides (I’m now ULTRA-MAGA. -PRO-MAX)
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To: BenLurkin

The DOD is beclowning itself on behalf of a geriatric chinese puppet at this point.


10 posted on 02/14/2023 8:08:28 AM PST by Sirius Lee (They intend to murder us. Prep if you want to live and live like you are prepping for eternal life)
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To: Sirius Lee

bttt


11 posted on 02/14/2023 8:09:09 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

12 posted on 02/14/2023 8:10:08 AM PST by Jeff Chandler (THE ISSUE IS NEVER THE ISSUE. THE REVOLUTION IS THE ISSUE.)
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To: House Atreides

“What we know about 4 recent shootdowns”? That they’re distractions to have us look away while the Wizard pulls his levers.


13 posted on 02/14/2023 8:10:10 AM PST by JJBookman (Democrats = Party of distraction )
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To: House Atreides
6 or 7 foot sections of narrow strips of aluminum foil cut from a commercial roll of aluminum foil.

Has something like that been suggested? If so, that would be very interesting.;-)

Makes one wonder if some college kids have created these UFOs as class experiments.

When I was a kid we used to create makeshift Chinese lanterns to spook people. Unfortunately, they always crashed before reaching any real height.

14 posted on 02/14/2023 8:13:28 AM PST by RoosterRedux
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To: BenLurkin

Government explanation: SHUT UP!!!!


15 posted on 02/14/2023 8:14:53 AM PST by subterfuge (I'm a pure-blood!)
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To: pepsionice

I bet you’re right about ‘someone’ going over to China with the tech.


16 posted on 02/14/2023 8:14:54 AM PST by Track9 (You are far too inquisitive not to be seduced…)
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To: BenLurkin

YOU TOO CAN DESIGN AND LAUNCH A UFO.

Your payload can be some thin balsa wood to which you can staple 6 foot X 1 inch strips of aluminum foil cut from your kitchen roll.

Nballoon 10 ft 120 inch 300g Giant Professional Weather Balloon For Meteorological Investigation Aerial Video Holiday Party Decoration Entertainment Toys Huge Balloons, Natural

https://www.amazon.com/Nballoon-Professional-Meteorological-Investigation-Entertainment/dp/B095RW99ZX/ref=sr_1_2?crid=21MB1RKUJ7ONR&keywords=weather%2Bballoon%2Bkit&qid=1676390993&sprefix=Weather%2Bballo%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-2&th=1


17 posted on 02/14/2023 8:16:56 AM PST by House Atreides (I’m now ULTRA-MAGA. -PRO-MAX)
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To: RoosterRedux

Antennae


18 posted on 02/14/2023 8:24:40 AM PST by Nifster ( EI see puppy dogs in the clouds )
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To: RoosterRedux

The training must be intense for the F22 and F35 pilots in the arduous task of shooting down a lighter than air craft. They could have just done a fly by and the jet wash would have destroyed the thing.


19 posted on 02/14/2023 8:30:14 AM PST by 9422WMR (45 1. Lie, cheat, steal. It’s how the democRATS operate. )
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To: House Atreides

For a couple hundred bucks, you could really screw with the government. Make them use a $400k sidewinder missile to shoot it down. Plus another $100k for the cost of the jet for an hour. LOL.


20 posted on 02/14/2023 8:31:03 AM PST by SC DOC (A)
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