The Pentagon is refusing to rule out the possibility that three unidentified flying objects shot down in as many days over North America are alien in origin.

While the gigantic “airship” that was shot down by US F-22 fighters on February 4 has been conclusively linked to China, the three other objects sighted over Alaska, Michigan and Canada have been harder to classify.

US Air Force General Glen VanHerck told reporters that the intelligence services were exploring “all possibilities” when it came to the origin of the “octagonal” craft.

READ MORE: Baffled pilots who shot down mystery object over Alaska say it 'interfered with sensors'

When asked whether the involvement of “aliens or extraterrestrials” had been ruled out, he replied: “I'll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out. I haven't ruled out anything."

He added that the exact nature of the flying craft sighted in the past three days remained unclear.

Pilots dispatched to intercept the objects said they were unable to ascertain what was propelling the objects, and one reported that the craft appeared to be interfering with his F-22’s electronic sensors.

General VanHerck stressed: “We're calling them objects, not balloons, for a reason."

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While the objects are not thought to have posed a direct threat to people or installations on the ground, their flight paths made them a potential hazard to civilian aircraft.

General VanHerck added: “I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object”.

A spokesperson from the US Department of Defence said: “Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation.

“The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery. There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected."

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Some defence experts have speculated that the mystery objects are Chinese in origin, and are only now being picked up because the US military was placed on high alert after the February 4 shootdown, other explanations have been suggested.

The craft spotted in the past few days have been linked to the numerous reports of “UAPs” with advanced and unexplainable propulsion systems that appeared to move at very high speeds both in the air and under water while buzzing US military ships and facilities.

After the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) was officially disbanded in 2012, it seemed as if the American military had given up trying to find out who or what was behind mysterious UAPs that had been buzzing US warships.

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But a new organisation, the Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronisation (AOIMS) Group, has taken over responsibility for UFO research.

Its mission will be to "synchronise" Washington's efforts to "detect, identify and attribute objects of interests in Special Use Airspace," and "assess and mitigate any associated threats to safety of flight and national security."

"Incursions by any airborne object into our [Special Use Airspace] pose safety of flight and operations security concerns, and may pose national security challenges," the US Department of Defence said in a press release.

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