Photo: US Department of Defense / Getty Images
By: The opinion Posted Mar 26, 2023, 12:27 pm EDT
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) reported that it is performing “routine operations” to investigate the trail of an “unknown radar” that flies over the state of Texas.
The organization formed by Canada and the United States, which provides air defense and control to all of North America, explained through a statement that after detecting the object on March 25, an operation was launched with an airplane to visually investigate the situation.
“The Norad aircraft identified a small airborne object as a ‘spike balloon’ from an amateur and assessed that the object did not pose an immediate military threat or a safety hazard for the flight,” he explained.
“Pico balloons” are ultralight plastic flying objects and of small size in which transmitters or other types of electronic elements can be suspended, and are frequently used to carry out meteorological investigations.
Norad explained that it “will continue to track and monitor the object” and that it is “in close coordination” with the US Federal Aviation Administration to ensure safety.
The event occurs a month and a half after the United States shot down a Chinese “spy” balloon in February that it flew over its territory for several days and that, according to China, it was part of a civilian mission in search of meteorological data.
A version that the Government of Joe Biden did not take as valid, a situation that strained relations between the two nations to the maximum.
Following this event, The United States raised controls in its airspace and carried out several operations to destroy aircraft that were flying over the country.
For its part, in February Canada also shot down an unknown object that violated the country’s airspace and was flying at high altitude, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.
The artifact was detected by Norad and shot down while over Yucón, a territory in the northwest of the country, on the border with Alaska.
With information from Efe.
Keep reading:
• The Pentagon published a photo of the Chinese spy balloon taken from a fighter-bomber
• Joe Biden warns that objects that represent a danger to the US will be shot down
• The US ensures that “there are no indications of aliens or extraterrestrial activity” in downed objects