Another defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, subsequently said the military had not seen any evidence that the objects were extraterrestrial.
On President Joe Biden's order, a U.S. F-16 fighter shot down the object at 2:42 p.m. local time over Lake Huron on the U.S.-Canada border, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in an official statement.
The object appeared to be octagonal in structure, with strings hanging off but no discernible payload, said a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity.
The object was believed to be the same as one recently detected over Montana near sensitive military sites, prompting the closure of U.S. airspace, the Pentagon said.
The military will try to recover the object downed over Lake Huron to learn more about it, VanHerck told reporters.
On Friday, a second object was shot down over sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.
And a third object was destroyed over Canada's Yukon on Saturday, with investigators still hunting for the wreckage. »
