The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily closed a section of airspace in northern Michigan on Sunday in support of a national defense situation.
The closed airspace, which was designated as “national defense airspace,” was mostly located over the northern part of Lake Michigan.
NEW: A new NOTAM has been posted and a Temporary Flight Restriction enacted until further notice in far northern Lake Michigan. This is once again National Defense Airspace.#balloongate continued? pic.twitter.com/BbN4WIRD3K
— Nick Stewart (@NStewCBS2) February 12, 2023
The North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command released a statement saying that the temporary flight restriction was put in place “to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations.”
Shortly after this report was published, the FAA canceled the restrictions and reopened the airspace.
Reuters: FAA: TEMPORARY RESTRICTIONS ON AIRSPACE ABOVE LAKE MICHIGAN HAVE BEEN CANCELLED
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) February 12, 2023
The situation comes after the U.S. military shot down an unidentified flying object over Alaska on Friday and another over Canada on Saturday.
The FAA sent the same alert out on Saturday night designating an area in the northern part of Montana as a “national defense airspace,” saying and that anyone who entered the airspace would be intercepted.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Northern Command released a statement late on Saturday night about the incident over Montana.
“NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate,” that statement said. “Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation.”
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) said in a tweet Sunday afternoon that he was informed that there was an object in Montana airspace and that it was not “an anomaly.”
“I am in constant communication with NORCOM and they have just advised me that they have confidence there IS an object and it WAS NOT an anomaly,” he said. “I am waiting now to receive visual confirmation. Our nation’s security is my priority.”
I am in constant communication with NORCOM and they have just advised me that they have confidence there IS an object and it WAS NOT an anomaly. I am waiting now to receive visual confirmation. Our nation’s security is my priority.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) February 12, 2023
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