Aliens? Not ruling out, says US General as 4th UFO shot down

China spots UFO, says will take it down. Also, it says US balloons have flown illegally over its territory more than 10 times since 2022

The US Air Force general overseeing North American airspace said on Sunday that he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to US intelligence experts.

Asked whether he had ruled out an extraterrestrial origin for three airborne objects shot down by US warplanes in as many days, General Glen VanHerck said: “I’ll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I haven’t ruled out anything.”

“At this point we continue to assess every threat or potential threat, unknown, that approaches North America with an attempt to identify it,” said VanHerck, head of US North American Aerospace Defense Command and Northern Command (NORAD). VanHerck said the military was unable to immediately determine the means by which any of the three latest objects were kept aloft or where they were coming from.

“We’re calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason, said VanHerck. 

His comments came during a Pentagon briefing on Sunday after a US F-16 fighter jet shot down an octagonal-shaped object over Lake Huron on the US-Canada border.

Meanwhile, China has spotted an unidentified flying object over waters near Qingdao and the authorities were preparing to shoot it down, The Paper reported. An employee at the marine development authority of Qingdao Jimo district said “relevant authorities” were preparing to take down the object, The Paper reported. 

Fishermen in the region have been told to remain careful about safety.

Beijing replies

US balloons illegally flew over China more than 10 times since the beginning of 2022, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. 

“It is nothing rare for US balloons to illegally enter other country’s airspace,” Wang told reporters at a briefing in Beijing on Monday. 

“The US needs to reflect upon itself and change its wrong practice,” he added. “We reserve the right to take necessary means to deal with relevant incidents.”

The comments mark the first time China has accused the US of sending balloons over its territory since the American military downed a Chinese machine earlier this month it said was used for surveillance. China had previously said its balloon was designed to research the weather and had inadvertently flown off course.