Several high-altitude airspace security events were reported in February 2023, initially over North America, then over Latin America, China, and Eastern Europe.
After the sightings of a Chinese balloon in 2023 (later shot down off the coast of South Carolina), the U.S. began more closely scrutinizing its airspace at high altitudes, including by radar enhancements that allowed the U.S. to better categorize and track slower-moving objects. [1] [2] General Glen VanHerck, the commander of NORAD, said that in 2021, up to 98% of raw radar data was not routinely analyzed, because the military aimed to filter out radio signal emanating from flocks of birds or weather balloons (as opposed to potential threats). VanHerck said that the U.S. adjustments to radar monitoring in 2023, after the Chinese balloon intrusion, gave the U.S. "better fidelity on seeing smaller objects." [2] The U.S. radar adjustments and increased vigilance increased the detection of objects. [1] [2] [3] It remains unknown when state-actor balloon incursions had begun. [4]
On February 14, after unidentified high-altitude objects had been detected and shot down over northern Alaska, Yukon, and Lake Huron, White House spokesman John Kirby said that the U.S. Intelligence Community "will not dismiss as a possibility that these could be balloons that were simply tied to commercial or research entities and therefore benign. That very well could be, or could emerge, as a leading explanation here." [2] The downing of the Yukon object, on February 11, 2023, marked the first deployment of NORAD to down an aerial object within the 64-year history of the US-Canadian aerospace warning and air sovereignty organization. [5] The objects shot down over northern Alaska, Yukon, and Lake Huron were all smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down over South Carolina. [6] A report by The Guardian on 17 February suggested that one of the objects "may have been amateur hobbyists’ $12 balloon." [7]
When asked about possible extraterrestrial origin of the three objects downed over North America between February 9–12, General VanHerck said he personally had not "ruled out anything", but he deferred to U.S. intelligence experts. [8]
Since several of the objects were downed in relatively inaccessible locations, ranging from sea ice off the Arctic Ocean coast of Alaska to remote alpine terrain in Yukon and deep US-Canada boundary waters in the middle of Lake Huron, recovery efforts have required considerable amounts of coordination and care. [9] [10] [11]
On February 16, 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that the search for the Lake Huron object had been suspended due to deteriorating weather and low chance of recovery. [12]
On February 16, 2023 at about 11 a.m., a suspected weather balloon believed to have originated in China was discovered at a shooting range on Dongyin, Lienchiang, Taiwan. [13]
On February 18, 2023, it was reported that the searches for the Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron objects had all been abandoned. [14]
Detected | Shot down | Location(s) | Incident | Circumstances | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 28, 2023 | February 4, 2023 | Alaska, Western Canada, and contiguous U.S. | 2023 Chinese balloon incident | A Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon transited Canadian and U.S. airspace before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina by the U.S. Air Force on February 4. | [15] [16] [17] [18] |
February 2, 2023 | — | Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela | 2023 Latin America balloon incident | A Chinese high-altitude balloon flew over Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela. A spokesperson for the Chinese government confirmed the balloon was theirs and said that it was used for "flight tests" and was blown off-course. | [19] |
February 9, 2023 | February 10, 2023 | Alaska (North Slope) | 2023 Alaska high-altitude object | A high-altitude object entered U.S. airspace on February 9 and was shot down over the Beaufort Sea by the U.S. Air Force. The Department of Defense said it was the size of a small car and flying northeast at approximately 40,000 feet (12,000 m), posing a risk to civilian flight. | [20] [21] [22] [23] |
— | February 11, 2023 | Yukon | 2023 Yukon high-altitude object | Canadian and U.S. authorities ordered the downing of an unidentified object over Yukon, and a U.S. Air Force F-22 (part of the joint U.S.-Canada North American Aerospace Defense Command) shot down the object in Canadian airspace. | [24] |
February 11, 2023 | February 12, 2023 | Alberta, Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, Lake Huron | 2023 Lake Huron high-altitude object | An octagonal object with strings hanging from it was detected over northern Montana, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at 20,000 feet (6,100 m). Airspace was temporarily closed in the Lake Huron area, where the object was shot down by the US Air Force and National Guard, falling into Canadian waters. | [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] |
February 12, 2023 | — | Rizhao | 2023 Shandong high-altitude object | Chinese authorities said they detected an unidentified object over the Yellow Sea, in waters near Qingdao, and were planning to shoot it down due to proximity to Jianggezhuang, a major PLA naval base. | [30] [31] [32] [33] |
February 14, 2023 | — | Southeast Romania, and Moldova | 2023 Moldova and Romania high-altitude objects | The Romanian Air Force unsuccessfully attempted to intercept an unidentified object detected roughly 36,000 feet (11,000 m) above Southeast Romania. Neighboring Moldova briefly closed its airspace due to a balloon-like object. | [34] [35] |
February 16, 2023 | — | Shijiazhuang | 2023 Hebei high-altitude object | Shijiazhuang Airport, serving Hebei's provincial capital, was shuttered for two hours due to local airspace "being occupied" by an unidentified flying object. Government sources later stated that the object was a balloon but provided no further follow-up, leading to a drop in domestic Chinese stocks. | [36] |
February 19, 2023 | — | Pacific Ocean, northeast of Hawaii | 2023 Pacific Ocean high-altitude object | American air traffic control from the Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center reported that a large white balloon had been reported to be flying at an altitude of roughly 40,000 to 50,000 feet (12,000 to 15,000 m) over the Pacific Ocean, about 594 miles (956 km) northeast of Honolulu, United States. | [37] |
April–May, 2023 | — | Hawaii | 2023 Hawaii high-altitude object | The balloon flew over parts of Hawaii and was heading towards Mexico. | [38] |
An unidentified flying object (UFO), or unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP), is any perceived airborne, submerged or transmedium phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. Upon investigation, most UFOs are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained.
On July 2, 1982, Larry Walters made a 45-minute flight in a homemade aerostat made of an ordinary lawn chair and 42 helium-filled weather balloons. The aircraft rose to an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,900 m), drifted from the point of liftoff in San Pedro, California, and entered controlled airspace near Long Beach Airport. During the final descent, the aircraft became entangled in power lines, but Walters was able to climb down safely. The flight attracted worldwide media attention and inspired a movie, a musical and numerous imitators.
On January 7, 1948, 25-year-old Captain Thomas F. Mantell, a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, died when he crashed his P-51 Mustang fighter plane near Franklin, Kentucky, United States, after being sent in pursuit of an unidentified flying object (UFO). Mantell pursued the object in a steep climb and disregarded suggestions to level his altitude. At high altitude, he blacked out from a lack of oxygen; his plane went into a downward spiral and crashed. The incident was among the most publicized of early UFO reports. Later investigation by the United States Air Force's Project Blue Book indicated that Mantell died chasing a Skyhook balloon, which, in 1948, was a top-secret project that he would not have known about.
Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 was a regularly scheduled civilian flight from Tripoli to Cairo, through Benghazi, that was shot down in 1973 by Israeli fighter jets after it entered by mistake, due to a system malfunction, the airspace of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula – then under Israeli occupation – resulting in the death of 108 civilians.
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The Pentagon UFO videos are selected visual recordings of Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) targeting from United States Navy fighter jets based aboard aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt in 2004, 2014 and 2015, with additional footage taken by other Navy personnel in 2019. The four grainy, monochromic videos, widely characterized as officially documenting UFOs, have received extensive coverage in the media since 2017. The Pentagon later addressed and officially released the first three videos of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) in 2020, and confirmed the provenance of the leaked 2019 videos in two statements made in 2021. Footage of UAPs was also released in 2023, sourced from MQ-9 military drones.
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The following is a list of events of the year 2023 in the United States.
Many aviation-related events took place in 2023.
From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a high-altitude balloon originating from China flew across North American airspace, including Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States. On February 4, the U.S. Air Force shot down the balloon over U.S. territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina. Debris from the wreckage was recovered and sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. Following a preliminary analysis of the debris in June, U.S. officials stated that the balloon carried intelligence-gathering equipment but does not appear to have sent information back to China. U.S. President Joe Biden described the balloon as carrying two railroad cars' equivalent of spy equipment, however stated that it was "not a major breach", and that he also believed that the Chinese leadership was not aware of the balloon. The U.S. government said the balloon had a propeller for maneuverability.
On February 10, 2023, the United States Air Force shot down a high-altitude object that had entered U.S. airspace over Alaska a day before. The object was shot down onto the Beaufort Sea. The Department of Defense said it was the size of a small car and flying northeast at approximately 40,000 feet (12,000 m), posing a risk to civilian flight. On February 16, 2023, US President Joe Biden stated that the downed object was probably a civilian-owned balloon and "most likely tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions".
On February 11, 2023, NORAD, at the direction of the Canadian Minister of National Defence and Chief of the Defence Staff, downed an unidentified object over Yukon.
2023 Montana high-altitude object may refer to:
On February 11, 2023, an octagonal unidentified flying object was detected over northern Montana. It disappeared until it was spotted the next day in Wisconsin, flying at 20,000 feet over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The object was tracked by NORAD.
On February 12, 2023, an unidentified object was allegedly spotted by Chinese maritime authorities over the Yellow Sea, inside the territorial waters of China's Shandong province, nearest the coastal city of Rizhao, which is located within the Qingdao metropolitan area. China announced plans to shoot down the object but did not release further details on February 12 regarding the outcome of the planned operation.