It's seems possible a new Chinese unmanned system is the "UFO" being shot down over North America this weekend. The system that fits the general description given by intercepting pilots is the Kuaiyun C4ISR ballon platform.
The Kuaiyun project was announced by state news Xinhua in September 2018. Kuaiyun was intended " to build a floating mobile platform that can reach the stratosphere, and provide services such as hydrogeological observation, major disaster monitoring, and information support and surety."
Kuaiyun disk-balloon and underslung UAV:
Added 2/13 another angle of underslung gondola UAV:
Added 2/14
NORTHCOM Pilot Descriptions:
North Coast of Canada Shootdown: Object was a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it”
Lake Huron Shootdown: Object was an "octagonal structure" with "strings hanging down" (Kuaiyun has 10-sided solar array on top, could easily be mistaken for octagonal)
Pentagon: "Objects MAY BE benign research balloons..."
Read more on the China-Defense.com forum.
