The skies above the U.S have seen a spate of unusual activity as the military has been forced to take down unidentified objects of mysterious origin on a now near-daily basis.
This began with the shoot-down of a Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina and has led to concerns about the state of U.S-China relations. The Biden administration is wary of the threat posed by China's global military-backed surveillance program spanning 40 countries.
Pentagon officials fielded questions from reporters during a conference call. Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, told Bloomberg that he refused to rule out anything as the reason for these objects, including the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement.
However, VanHerck acknowledged that the U.S. increased the monitoring of its airspace since the Chinese balloon incident, which has led to the shooting down of smaller objects over Alaska, Canada and Michigan.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton explained the increase in detected objects was due to enhanced radar capabilities and a heightened level of scrutiny of airspace.
The mystery surrounding the origin of these objects led to speculation that they could be balloons relaying signals to China or Russia, or just debris.
China accused the Biden administration of sending balloons over its territory more than 10 times over the course of 2022, a claim which was vehemently denied by National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
China also warned that it reserves the right to take necessary measures in response to similar incidents.
To date, the U.S. military has shot down four objects over its territory and Canada. Officials have briefed foreign diplomats on the matter and are searching for the wreckage of the Chinese balloon and the other three objects.
The increasing frequency of these incidents raises questions about the Pentagon's policy on the use of fighter jets in response to perceived threats to civilian aviation or military sites.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) pointed out the challenge posed by the growing number of balloons in the sky and the need for new ways to detect launches, monitor movements and track approaches.
Despite ongoing efforts, the source of these mysterious objects remains unknown, but U.S. officials hope to uncover more information once they have recovered the wreckage and analyzed the payloads.
At a recent press conference, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated the White House wanted to share that there was, "No indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns."
Read Next: Trump Says Will Be 'Hunting Down' Chinese Spies When He's Back In White House
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