Several high-altitude airspace security events were reported in February 2023, initially overNorth America, then overLatin America,China, andEastern Europe.
After thesightings of a Chinese balloon in 2023 (later shot down off the coast ofSouth Carolina), the U.S. began more closely scrutinizing its airspace at high altitudes, including by radar enhancements that allowed the U.S. to better categorize and track slower-moving objects.[1][2] GeneralGlen VanHerck, the commander ofNORAD, said that in 2021, up to 98% of raw radar data was not routinely analyzed, because the military aimed to filter out radio signal emanating from flocks of birds or weather balloons (as opposed to potential threats). VanHerck said that the U.S. adjustments to radar monitoring in 2023, after the Chinese balloon intrusion, gave the U.S. "better fidelity on seeing smaller objects."[2] The U.S. radar adjustments and increased vigilance increased the detection of objects.[1][2][3] It remains unknown when state-actor balloon incursions had begun.[4]
On February 14, after unidentified high-altitude objects had been detected and shot down overnorthern Alaska,Yukon, andLake Huron, White House spokesmanJohn Kirby said that theU.S. Intelligence Community "will not dismiss as a possibility that these could be balloons that were simply tied to commercial or research entities and therefore benign. That very well could be, or could emerge, as a leading explanation here."[2] The downing of the Yukon object, on February 11, 2023, marked the first deployment of NORAD to down an aerial object within the 64-year history of the US-Canadian aerospace warning and air sovereignty organization.[5] The objects shot down over northern Alaska, Yukon, and Lake Huron were all smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down over South Carolina.[6] A report byThe Guardian on 17 February suggested that one of the objects "may have been amateur hobbyists’ $12 balloon."[7]
When asked about possibleextraterrestrial origin of the three objects downed over North America between February 9–12, General VanHerck said he personally had not "ruled out anything", but he deferred to U.S. intelligence experts.[8]
Since several of the objects were downed in relatively inaccessible locations, ranging from sea ice off the Arctic Ocean coast of Alaska to remote alpine terrain in Yukon and deep US-Canada boundary waters in the middle of Lake Huron, recovery efforts have required considerable amounts of coordination and care.[9][10][11]
On February 16, 2023, theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police announced that the search for theLake Huron object had been suspended due to deteriorating weather and low chance of recovery.[12]
On February 16, 2023 at about 11 a.m., a suspected weather balloon believed to have originated in China was discovered at a shooting range onDongyin, Lienchiang, Taiwan.[13]
On February 18, 2023, it was reported that the searches for the Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron objects had all been abandoned.[14]
Documents released in November 2024 revealed that debris from the Lake Huron object had been recovered and that the object was "from a company who sells weather monitoring equipment."[15]
| Detected | Shot down | Location(s) | Incident | Circumstances | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 28, 2023 | February 4, 2023 | Alaska, Western Canada, andcontiguous U.S. | 2023 Chinese balloon incident | A Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon transited Canadian and U.S. airspace before being shot down off the coast ofSouth Carolina by theU.S. Air Force on February 4. | [16][17][18][19] |
| February 2, 2023 | — | Costa Rica,Colombia, andVenezuela | 2023 Latin America balloon incident | A Chinese high-altitude balloon flew over Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela. A spokesperson for the Chinese government confirmed the balloon was theirs and said that it was used for "flight tests" and was blown off-course. | [20] |
| February 9, 2023 | February 10, 2023 | Alaska (North Slope) | 2023 Alaska high-altitude object | A high-altitude object entered U.S. airspace on February 9 and was shot down over theBeaufort Sea by the U.S. Air Force. TheDepartment of Defense said it was the size of a small car and flying northeast at approximately 40,000 feet (12,000 m), posing a risk to civilian flight. | [21][22][23][24] |
| — | February 11, 2023 | Yukon | 2023 Yukon high-altitude object | Canadian and U.S. authorities ordered the downing of an unidentified object overYukon, and aU.S. Air ForceF-22 (part of the joint U.S.-CanadaNorth American Aerospace Defense Command) shot down the object in Canadian airspace. | [25] |
| February 11, 2023 | February 12, 2023 | Alberta,Montana,Wisconsin,Michigan,Ontario,Lake Huron | 2023 Lake Huron high-altitude object | An octagonal object with strings hanging from it was detected over northern Montana,Wisconsin, and theUpper Peninsula of Michigan at 20,000 feet (6,100 m). Airspace was temporarily closed in theLake Huron area, where the object was shot down by the US Air Force and National Guard, falling into Canadian waters. | [26][27][28][29][30] |
| February 12, 2023 | — | Rizhao | 2023 Shandong high-altitude object | Chinese authorities said they detected an unidentified object over theYellow Sea, in waters nearQingdao, and were planning to shoot it down due to proximity toJianggezhuang, a majorPLA naval base. | [31][32][33][34] |
| February 14, 2023 | — | SoutheastRomania, andMoldova | 2023 Moldova and Romania high-altitude objects | TheRomanian Air Force unsuccessfully attempted to intercept an unidentified object detected roughly 36,000 feet (11,000 m) above Southeast Romania. NeighboringMoldova briefly closed its airspace due to a balloon-like object. | [35][36] |
| February 16, 2023 | — | Shijiazhuang | 2023 Hebei high-altitude object | Shijiazhuang Airport, servingHebei's provincial capital, was shuttered for two hours due to local airspace "being occupied" by an unidentified flying object. Government sources later stated that the object was a balloon but provided no further follow-up, leading to a drop in domestic Chinese stocks. | [37] |
| February 19, 2023 | — | Pacific Ocean, northeast ofHawaii | 2023 Pacific Ocean high-altitude object | American air traffic control from theOakland Air Route Traffic Control Center reported that a large white balloon had been reported to be flying at an altitude of roughly 40,000 to 50,000 feet (12,000 to 15,000 m) over the Pacific Ocean, about 594 miles (956 km) northeast ofHonolulu,United States. | [38] |
| April–May, 2023 | — | Hawaii | 2023 Hawaii high-altitude object | The balloon flew over parts of Hawaii and was heading towards Mexico. | [39] |
