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The Pentagon shot down an unidentified object that flew over US airspace off the coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from US President Joe Biden, White House officials said.
The object was flying at an altitude of about 40,000 feet (about 12,100 meters) and posed a “substantial threat” to the safety of civil aviation, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council. He described the object as the size of a small car and said it was shot near the US-Canada border.
It is the second time in a week that US officials have downed some type of flying object over the US.
There are several answers about the object, and the White House distinguishes between the two episodes.
Kirby said it was not immediately known who owned the object, and he did not say it was a balloon. Officials also could not say whether any surveillance equipment was on the device. They also don’t know where they came from and what their purpose is.
Still, it’s worrying enough that US officials feel it’s best to eliminate the skies.
A fighter pilot observes an object
“We will continue to be vigilant about our airspace,” Kirby said. “The president takes the obligation to protect national security interests as paramount.”
Kirby said fighter pilots visually inspected the object and determined it was unmanned. The president was briefed on the object’s existence on Thursday afternoon after two fighter jets took a look.
The object fell into the cold water and officials said they will be able to recover the debris from the device that went down faster than the big balloon last week.
The development came nearly a week after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of Carolina after passing over a sensitive military site in North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian vessel and threatened consequences after the US downed.
Biden issued the order but wanted the balloon to come down first. He was advised that the best time to operate was when there was water. Military officials determined that descending from a height of 60,000 feet (about 18,200 meters) would cause undue danger to people on the ground.
China responded that it had the right to “take further action” and criticized the US for its “obvious reaction and violation of international practice.”
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