(WWJ) – An unidentified object has been shot down in airspace above Lake Huron, according to officials.
Airspace over Lake Michigan was shut down for a short time on Sunday due to "Department of Defense activities," according to federal authorities, but was lifted soon after. A Notice to Airmen was issued a short time later Sunday afternoon after an object was discovered over Lake Huron.
While it is not immediately clear whether the incidents are connected, Rep. Jack Bergman said on Twitter he had been in contact with the DOD about the activity in the Great Lakes region.
He said the object was shot down, though authorities have not said what it may have been.
"The US military has decommissioned another “object” over Lake Huron," the representative said in a tweet. "I appreciate the decisive action by our fighter pilots. The American people deserve far more answers than we have."
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell told WWJ the object was shot down because it "posed a possible threat in commercial airspace."
"We don't yet know what the object is, where it's coming from," Dingell said. "Our military will be working hard to retrieve all of it and to find out what we can learn. "
The activity above the Great Lakes came just a day after airspace in Montana was briefly closed on Saturday because NORAD detected a “radar anomaly,” according to a report from The Hill. Authorities sent fighter jets to investigate, but did not find anything in Montana. Federal authorities also shot down unidentified objects near the coast of Alaska earlier in the week. An object was also shot down in northern Canada.
Pentagon officials said Sunday's object, shaped like an octagon, was not believed to be a military threat, but was a flight hazard, according to a report from CNN.
Authorities said it is believed to be the same object observed over Montana. It was reported to have strings hanging off it but did not appear to be carrying anything.
NORAD officials said in a tweet Sunday the airspace was closed around noon near the northern end of Lake Michigan “to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORA operations.”
Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of the NORAD operations on Sunday near Lake Michigan.
Officials from Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Harrison Township confirmed to WWJ they did not have anything to do with Sunday's take-down of the unidentified object. A spokeswoman says none of their fighter jets were involved in the incident and that Selfridge did not have anything flying today.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin said in a tweet she received a call from the Department of Defense about an object over Lake Huron Sunday afternoon, saying the military has "an extremely close eye on" it.
"We’ll know more about what this was in the coming days, but for now, be assured that all parties have been laser-focused on it from the moment it traversed our waters," Slotkin said, via Twitter.
Dingell called the increasing incidents of unidentified objects "disturbing."
"We need the facts about where they are originating from, what their purpose is, and why their frequency is increasing," she said in a statement released on Twitter. "Our national security is of the utmost importance & we must work in a bipartisan way with the Administration & relevant partners for answers and the appropriate reaction. I’m thankful to the Air Force, National Guard, & all our military forces working vigilantly to keep us safe."
Other lawmakers have called for more transparency on the recent events, demanding answers as to where these objects are originating.
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