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Jets deployed from Madison shot down unidentified object over Lake Huron

MADISON (WKOW) -- Fighter jets deployed from Madison's Truax Field shot down an unidentified object over Lake Huron Sunday afternoon. 

Gen. Glen VanHerck, the Commander of NORAD, said the United States believes the object is the same one that first entered U.S. airspace Saturday over Montana. It disappeared from radar for a bit but showed back up overnight as it approached Wisconsin.

U.S. officials say they're taking an abundance of caution when it comes to objects in U.S. airspace after shooting down a Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month.

The object shot down over Lake Huron is the fourth object the U.S. has shot down in North American airspace in eight days. 

In a Pentagon briefing Sunday, VanHerck said he believes this is the first time in U.S. history this has happened. 

He said the United States and NORAD adjusted radars to track slower objects after the Chinese spy balloon flew across the county. That's why he says this most recent object was considered an irregularity when it was over Montana. The Pentagon believes this same object then tracked over Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula Sunday.

The object eventually moved over Lake Huron, so U.S. and Canadian officials restricted airspace as they worked to identify the object. 

VanHerck said fighter jets from Madison were sent to identify and take down the object. 

He didn't describe the unmanned object, but a senior official from the Biden Administration tells ABC News it was traveling at 20,000 feet and was shaped like an octagon. 

Melissa Dalton, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, said these historic take downs might be partially attributed to increased caution after the balloon from China was identified. 

"We also know that there are a range of entities out there, whether there are private companies, research organizations that operate projects that [do] altitude for purposes that are not nefarious, including legitimate research," Dalton said. 

She said because officials have not been able to definitively assess what the objects are, President Biden wants to act out of an "abundance of caution" to protect U.S. security. 

Both Dalton and VanHerck said the U.S. will remain vigilant in monitoring our airspace and any unidentified object will be handled on a case-by-case basis. They said there should be a better understanding of the purpose of these objects once crews are able to recover them. 

More at WKOW 27 News


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