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 Shot down UFOs not linked to China infographic
Graphic charts 50 years of reported UFO sitings in the United States.
GN43933EN

UNITED STATES

U.S. says shot down UFOs could be harmless

By Ninian Carter

February 15, 2023 - The White House says three recently shot down unidentified flying objects show no connection to China’s balloon surveillance programme, and were likely for commercial purposes.

The U.S. suspects that three unidentified flying objects downed since last Friday were benign commercial or research craft and not linked to China’s alleged surveillance balloon programme.

The comments will likely ease concerns that the U.S. has become the subject to a Chinese surveillance programme and may go some way to easing the spy balloon dispute.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, after hovering for days over sensitive U.S. military sites.

There followed a series of shoot-downs over Alaska, Canada and Michigan beginning February 10, that raised pressure on the Biden administration to explain the nature of the high-altitude craft and whether they posed a threat to national security.

From mid-October to December 2022, the National UFO Reporting Center catalogued some 1,255 new sightings of unidentified flying objects (aka unidentified aerial phenomena – UAP).

Sources
PUBLISHED: 15/02/2023; STORY: Graphic News
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