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Just Hot Air: USAF Jets Scrambled After Hobby Balloon Triggers False Alarm
Just Hot Air: USAF Jets Scrambled After Hobby Balloon Triggers False Alarm
Sputnik International
An unidentified flying object crossing the Western US turned out to be a harmless balloon after jet fighters were scrambled in another false alarm. A similar incident last year sparked a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Washington.
2024-02-25T11:29+0000
2024-02-25T11:29+0000
2024-02-25T11:29+0000
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A high-altitude balloon intercepted by fighter jets over Utah turn out to be a hobby balloon, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has admitted. The US strategic nuclear early warning and command centre, based in a vast bunker under Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, scrambled jets on Friday to intercept the latest mysterious radar blip.The UFO intercepted at an altitude of 43,000 to 45,000 feet turned out to be just a balloon, which was judged harmless and left to continue flying above the US.The incident sparked another media outcry in the vein of last year's panic over a stray Chinese weather balloon.NORAD monitored the balloon in coordination with the civilian Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) via ground radars until it exited US airspace overnight."In close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected a small balloon at an altitude varying between 43,000-45,000 ft.," NORAD said on Friday. "The balloon was intercepted by NORAD fighters over Utah, who determined it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security."NORAD has provided no further details about the balloon or its trajectory.According to the DoD official's report, the balloon seemed constructed from Mylar material. It had a compact, cube-like box measuring roughly two feet in length on each side suspended beneath it. However, the source and motives of the object remain mysterious.This latest incident comes a year after the US military shot down a stary Chinese balloon in February 2023. Washington claimed the privately-owned blimp was on a spying mission for Beijing after it drifted off course over the Canada and then US. The Chinese government insisted the privately-owned balloon was a civilian craft conducting scientific research.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231223/over-the-horizon-oops-chinese-balloon-exposed-us-forces-radar-gaps-1115771099.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230630/pentagon-admits-chinese-spy-balloon-did-not-collect-data-during-us-overflight-1111587288.html
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Just Hot Air: USAF Jets Scrambled After Hobby Balloon Triggers False Alarm
An unidentified flying object crossing the Western US turned out to be a harmless balloon after jet fighters were scrambled in another false alarm. A similar incident last year sparked a diplomatic spat between Beijing and Washington.
A high-altitude balloon intercepted by fighter jets over Utah turn out to be a hobby balloon, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has admitted.
The US strategic nuclear early warning and command centre, based in a vast bunker under Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, scrambled jets on Friday to intercept the latest mysterious radar blip.
The UFO intercepted at an altitude of 43,000 to 45,000 feet turned out to be just a balloon, which was judged harmless and left to continue flying above the US.
The incident sparked another
media outcry in the vein of last year's panic over a stray Chinese weather balloon.
23 December 2023, 17:17 GMT
NORAD monitored the balloon in coordination with the civilian Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) via ground radars until it exited US airspace overnight.
"In close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected a small balloon at an altitude varying between 43,000-45,000 ft.," NORAD said on Friday. "The balloon was intercepted by NORAD fighters over Utah, who determined it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security."
NORAD has provided no further details about the balloon or its trajectory.
According to the DoD official's report, the balloon seemed constructed from Mylar material. It had a compact, cube-like box measuring roughly two feet in length on each side suspended beneath it. However, the source and motives of the object remain mysterious.
This latest incident comes a year after the US military shot down a stary Chinese balloon in February 2023. Washington claimed the privately-owned blimp was on a spying mission
for Beijing after it drifted off course over the Canada and then US. The Chinese government insisted the privately-owned balloon was a civilian craft conducting scientific research.
