A high-ranking US military official has said the government cannot rule out aliens amid the unprecedented shootdown of mysterious aircraft in recent days over US and Canadian airspace.
United States General Glen VanHerck, who heads up NORAD and US Northern Command, was asked by reporters if he could rule out the possibility of extraterrestrials. He replied, «I haven't ruled out anything at this point,» according to the Associated Press.
US jets have shot down four objects in the past eight days. The first was a Chinese spy balloon that the US shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4 off the coast of South Carolina. The other three have yet to be identified.
According to Pentagon officials, there is no precedent for this level of action against objects in the sky outside of wartime. VanHerck said the ongoing shootdowns are due, in part, to a «heightened alert» following the discovery of the Chinese spy balloon. Additionally, VanHerck said US officials have made changes to their radar systems to detect slower-moving objects.
«I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object,» VanHerck said.
The latest of the shot-down objects was blown out of the sky over Lake Huron. The object was «octagonal, with strings hanging off,» but had no discernible payload--it was flying at the relatively low altitude of about 20,000 feet, a senior administration official told the AP.
The object shot down over remote Alaska was described by officials as being «cylindrical,» and it had a payload of some kind. US officials said the three objects they have yet to identify are not consistent with a fleet of surveillance
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