The White House again on Tuesday said officials had been unable to identify three objects shot from the sky in recent days, and they could actually have had no hostile intent.
They were spotted in the days after a fighter jet shot down a giant balloon suspected of spying for China.
But John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters that the United States still had no firm grasp on the origin of the other three objects.
‘We know of no entity or individual coming forward to claim that they are responsible or that they own any of these objects,’ he said.
‘But as I said, one thing we have to consider, and we believe the intelligence community is considering as an explanation is that these could be tied to, as they say, commercial or research entities and therefore totally benign.’
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, told reporters that the United States still had no firm grasp on the origin of three objects shot down in recent days
Since February 4, four objects have been shot down including the Chinese spy balloon, and then three ‘UFOs’ as the U.S. went into panic mode
Analysis has been hampered, he said, by the difficulty in recovering debris from har-to-reach areas — two in the frozen north and one in Lake Huron.
And he said there was no indication that the trio of objects were tied to China’s spy balloon program.
A U.S. fighter jet on Feb. 4 shot down a high-altitude Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina after it transited the United States.
It spent a week traversing the United States and Canada before then. China insists it is not a spy vessel.
Since then jets have been scrambled three more times to intercept unidentified intruders.
The result is a deepening diplomatic crisis, as Beijing and Washington trade barbs.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on six Chinese entities it says are tied to the balloon, an action which drew criticism from Beijing on Tuesday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a trip to China amid the furore, although reports suggests he could now meet Beijing’s top diplomat during the Munich Security Conference.
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The Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023
U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 prepare to conduct a search for debris during recovery efforts for the remains of a high-altitude Chinese balloon shot down by the U.S. Air Force off the coast of South Carolina during salvage and investigation operations on February 7, 2023 in this image released by the U.S. Navy in Washington, U.S., February 13, 2023
A U.S. Navy sailor assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 conducts a search for debris with an underwater vehicle
Earlier the White House has announced it was putting together a UFO task force to study the security risks posed by airborne objects detected in US airspace.
The new group, created on orders from national security adviser Jake Sullivan, will see experts from the Pentagon, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies come together to analyze unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) and determine whether they are a threat.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday said: ‘Every element of the government will redouble their efforts to understand and mitigate these events,’ adding the task force would examine the ‘broader policy implications’ related to the detection and analysis of UFOs over mainland US.
In the meantime, Republicans and some Democrats have accused President Joe Biden of keeping them in the dark.
‘People are scared, upset, & are believing crazy things being said on the internet about the 3 objects shot down by our military. There are not aliens & no evidence of them. But there is a lack of transparency from the Biden admin and simple explanations are owed to the people,’ tweeted Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday.
Sen. Rand Paul tweeted: ‘As Ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, I demand that POTUS and the Department of Defense tell us what they know – and what they don’t – immediately.’
