U.S. fighter jets have shot down four high-altitude objects this month — including the first instance in which the North American Aerospace Defense Command "has taken kinetic action against an airborne object" in U.S. airspace over NORAD's nearly 65-year existence, according to commanding officer Gen. Glen VanHerck.
The shootdowns came in steady succession over the weekend, after alarms were raised in early February over an object that the U.S. said was a surveillance balloon deployed by China.
