The Pentagon admitted to shooting down three of the objects but said they were still trying to determine their purpose and origin.
The development led to theories ranging from the Chinese government to extraterrestrial aliens being behind the phenomenon. Some believed the whole thing to be a hoax orchestrated by the government to distract from other issues, like the train derailment and subsequent chemical explosion in East Palestine, Ohio, or the Nord Stream sabotage revelations aired by US journalist Seymour Hersh.
On February 10, the first object was taken down off the Alaskan coast. Authorities described it as the size of a small car. The following day, an American fighter jet downed a cylindrical object over Canada, with the only other details being given that it was smaller than the suspected Chinese spy balloon downed the week before. On Sunday, an octagonal structure with strings hanging from it was shot down over Lake Huron, no further details have been released.