US ends search for objects shot down over Lake Huron and Alaska, citing poor weather conditions

The United States announced on Friday it was ending the search and recovery for two unidentified flying objects that were shot down over Lake Huron and Alaska last week following an incident with a Chinese spy balloon that entered US airspace days prior.

The US Northern Command released a statement on Friday advising that the United States’ efforts to locate and retrieve two downed aerial objects that were the targets of US military takedowns last week were being terminated after days of attempting to find debris over Lake Huron and over frozen waters in Deadhorse, Alaska. The searches have thus far proven unfruitful, according to the announcement. USNORTHCOM explained that the US military had “conducted systematic searches of each area using a variety of capabilities, including airborne imagery and sensors, surface sensors and inspections, and subsurface scans, and did not locate debris.”

The takedown over Alaska took place on February 10, followed by the Lake Huron incident on February 12. Both objects have been described by President Biden as non-threatening aircraft, likely owned by private research companies studying weather. A third aerial object was brought down over the Yukon Territory in Canada in the same week, and Canadian officials have indicated they are continuing the search for debris from that takedown.

President Biden said in an address this week that he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the near future regarding the spy balloon, which Beijing has maintained was a civilian weather balloon that blew off course.