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1st missile at object over Lake Huron missed

The first of two missiles fired from an F-16 fighter jet at an unidentified object over Lake Huron on Sunday missed the object, but landed harmlessly in the water, the top U.S. General, Mark Milley, said on Tuesday. “We certainly tracked it all the way down,” Milley told reporters at a news conference in Brussels. The Associated Press has the story:

1st missile at object over Lake Huron missed

Newslooks- BRUSSELS (AP)

The first U.S. missile fired at an unidentified aerial object over Lake Huron missed the target and “landed harmlessly” in the water before a second one successfully hit, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday.

The acknowledgment by Gen. Mark Milley of the errant strike comes amid questions about whether the shootdown of aerial objects that military officials say didn’t pose a threat is creating unnecessary risk.

FILE – The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington, March 2, 2022. U.S. officials say an “unidentified object” has been shot down Sunday for the third time in as many days, this time over Lake Huron, after earlier downings in Alaska and Canada. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Milley said the military went to “great lengths” to make sure the strikes did not put civilians at risk, including identifying what the debris field size was likely to be and the maximum effective range of the missiles used. He also said in each case the Pentagon works to make sure that the air space is clear, and to evaluate the potential debris field, before embarking on such a strike.

“We’re very very careful to make sure that those shots are in fact safe,” Milley said. “And that’s the guidance from the president. Shoot it down, but make sure we minimize collateral damage and we preserve the safety of the American people.”

NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin climb down a staircase ahead of a news conference on the day of the NATO defence ministers’ meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 14, 2023.

The object taken down Sunday was the third in as many days to be shot from the skies. The White House has said the objects differed in size and maneuverability from a Chinese surveillance balloon that U.S. fighter jets shot down earlier this month, but that their altitude was low enough to pose a risk to civilian air space.

Milley was in Brussels with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to meet with members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on additional weapons and defensive needs for Kyiv in advance of Russia’s anticipated spring offensive.

Fox News was the first to report the missed missile strike.

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