Timeline: What and where fighter jets have shot down unidentified aircraft

A timeline of what and where fighter jets have shot down unidentified aircraft so far this month: 

February 4

Shot down: Off Surfside Beach, South Carolina

A US defence official said the aircraft was a spy balloon and that China had intended to use it on sensitive military sites.

However, China insisted the balloon was used for meteorological and other scientific research and had been blown off course.

February 10

Shot down: Off Deadhorse, Alaska

A second object, described as being “about the size of a small car”, was spotted by the North American Aerospace Defense Command near Alaska and downed on February 10.

Two US F-22 warplanes were dispatched from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska, and the object was shot down over sea ice near Deadhorse.

February 11

Shot down: Over the Yukon

A third object, described by US officials as “much smaller” than the suspected spy balloon, was tracked entering US airspace over Alaska before drifting over Canada.

Canadian officials described the object, which was flying at an altitude of around 40,000 feet, as “small” and “cylindrical” and that it “posed a reasonable threat”.

Again, US F-22 jets tracked the object, while Canadian CF-18 fighters and CP-140 maritime patrol craft also joined the operation.

February 12

Shot down: By F-16 over Lake Huron, Michigan

A senior US official described the latest object — flying at a considerably lower altitude, around 20,000 feet — as having “an octagonal structure with strings hanging off but no discernible payload”.

“We’re calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason,” said US Air Force General Glen VanHerck, refusing to rule out any explanation when asked if they could be extraterrestrial.