The downed objects were detected Friday after the US Air Defense adjusted radar settings to scan for small and slow-moving objects, Assistant Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton said.
“In light of the People’s Republic of China balloon that we took down last Saturday, we are scrutinizing our airspace more closely at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which should at least partially cover those objects.” That can explain the increase in cases we’ve discovered in the last week,” she told reporters.
They said they knew that there are objects at such altitudes that float in the air and are operated by research institutes and private companies.
“But because we haven’t been able to definitively assess what these recent items are, the President wanted to act carefully to protect our safety and interests,” she said.
Operations are currently underway to recover all four objects, Dalton said.
Canadian officials described the shot dropped in Canada’s far northwest on Saturday as small and cylindrical, roughly the size of a Volkswagen car.