In February 2023, a Chinese spy balloon was shot down over South Carolina. This was followed by three other objects which, however, reportedly flew without any apparent propulsion system. They were also shot down. The head of NORAD stated that he was “not going to categorise them as balloons. We’re calling them objects for a reason.” He specifically did not initially rule out an extraterrestrial origin, either. Recordings of the pilots’ conversations engaging the third object over Lake Huron on 12 February 2023 showed their uncertainty as to how to classify it. These events followed other encounters such as the ones in 2004 with the USS Nimitz carrier strike group or the 2015 USS Roosevelt encounter. They are part of a wider development described by military and civilian pilots reporting objects which defy identification and the known laws of physics. During a congressional hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) in 2025, a video was shown of US drones attacking a UAP with a Hellfire missile with little effect.
Which legal framework is relevant to determining whether the destruction of UAP is permitted, whether on land, sea, or in the air? Is it possible to establish general principles based on the rules applicable in peacetime or war? The publicly known and observable UAP behaviour makes it difficult to classify them (all) unambiguously as military, civilian, or something in between, or whether they are hostile or benevolent. This post gives a brief overview of some relevant considerations.
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