Department of Defense responds to suggestion of attempted cover-up of Chinese spy balloon
Department of Defense press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provides insight on the downed object over Alaska and the Chinese spy balloon.
U.S. senators on Tuesday will be privy to a classified briefing on the matter of objects getting shot out of the skies above North America.
A Senate aide told reporters about the all-senators classified briefing meeting on Monday, saying the meeting would be held at 10 a.m. the next day.
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. (REUTERS/Randall Hill TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Senators were slated for a classified briefing on China for Wednesday, though the one on Tuesday will be distinct because it focuses on the mysterious objects shot down over the weekend.
On Sunday, the U.S. military shot down an unidentified flying object over Lake Huron in Michigan, making it the fourth object since Feb. 4 that an "unidentified object" was shot down over North America.
The Defense Department, or DOD, said President Joe Biden, just before 2:42 p.m., directed an F-16 to fire an AIM-9x missile to shoot down an airborne object flying at nearly 20,000 feet over Lake Huron.
US forces recover debris from a shot-down Chinese surveillance balloon. (US Fleet Forces)
The DOD raised concerns about the path and altitude, noting it could be a hazard to civil aviation.
US MILITARY 'DECOMMISSIONS' UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT OVER GREAT LAKES REGION
"The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery. There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected," Lt. Col. César Santiago said in a statement.
U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambling to intercept and try to identify the object.
The U.S. has shot down four objects over North America in the past week, with the first being a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. The second and third objects are believed to have been smaller balloons, which were shot down over Alaska and Canada, respectively.
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Fox News Digital's Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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