It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No, it’s a Chinese Balloon!

Over the past month, 10 foreign objects have been spotted across US and Canadian skies. The first object, a Chinese surveillance balloon larger than the Statue of Liberty, floated across Alaska and then across Canada and the continental US on January 28. A few days later, on February 4, the balloon was shot down by a fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina. Residents of South Carolina have posted photos and videos of the balloon over their homes and the debris left in their yards. China claims that the balloon was simply a weather balloon that veered off coast, however many US officials and citizens believe it’s a “Chinese spy balloon”. In the following couple of weeks, more unidentified objects have been shot down by both the US and Canada. These objects were smaller than the Chinese balloon and while they posed no military threat, their paths did raise concern, according to the Defense Department. It is still not known where the unidentified objects came from or their purpose. On February 16, President Biden addressed the nation regarding the objects and said that it is not believed that they were linked to China’s spy balloon program. He also said that despite this, the objects were shot down as a precaution due to their close proximity to sensitive facilities.