Following the U.S. Military’s recent decision to shoot down what has now been confirmed to be a Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4th, the Pentagon released a statement detailing that similar balloon incidents had occurred during the Trump administration but had not been disclosed to the public.

This statement was released only a week before the U.S. proceeded to shoot down another three UFOs from February 10th through February 12th. So, what is going on in U.S. airspace right now? One important point to note is that there seems to be no connection between the events other than their seemingly coincidental timing.

In comparison to the Chinese balloon, the public has been told very little about the three aircraft shot down over Alaska, Canada, and Lake Huron, with the Pentagon’s press secretary stating “We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose, or origin.”

In their statement addressing the issue, however, the Pentagon did say that their number one theory at the moment is that the objects were likely research craft, or intended for otherwise benign purposes which does raise the question as to why the U.S. Military is shooting them down. Yet despite those reassuring statements, many cannot help but feel as if there is more to the situation than the government is letting on. Especially with the knowledge that the Chinese balloon shot down on February 4th had spent a large amount of time surveying Montana, a state in which much of the U.S. nuclear arsenal is located.

Even students at BHS have been left feeling uneasy at the current global tensions. “It’s a little concerning to not only hear that UFOs are getting into the U.S. without knowing where they are coming from, but also that concrete aggressive action has been taken against it,” said BHS sophomore Alex Vaccaro. “It really just makes you think that there is probably something else a lot more serious going on.”

Over one hundred weather balloons are launched into U.S. airspace every day to collect important data for local conditions and potential upcoming storms, not all of which are registered with the FAA. So, why did the U.S. military scramble to shoot down three seemingly harmless UFOs which could have potentially been, as the Pentagon said, benign research craft?

After the recent spy balloon sent by China was shot down, global diplomatic relations, especially between the U.S. and China, have been disrupted. Acting out of extreme caution, the U.S. military immediately dispatched an F-16 and two F-22s to shoot down the aircraft, deciding that shooting down these objects would allow the U.S. to quickly both eliminate any threat that they posed and still potentially learn of their purpose and origin.

The public seems to agree with this course of action, with BHS students such as sophomore Bryce Babich saying “I believe that the U.S. ultimately made the right decision because these could have potentially been dangerous and a threat to our country.” Nonetheless, the U.S. military is still yet to recover the three UFOs leaving the whole issue shrouded in mystery.