The U.S. shot down an unidentified object Friday over frozen waters near Alaska at the order of President Joe Biden, less than one week after shooting down a Chinese spy balloon off the East Coast.
John Kirby, a White House spokesman, described a "high altitude object" roughly the size of a small car traveling in Alaska's air space. He said the Pentagon was not ready to determine whether the object was a balloon, where it was from or whether it was conducting surveillance.
"It was a success," Biden told reporters about the military operation to down the object.
The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, significantly lower than the 65,000-foot altitude of last week's Chinese spy balloon, and “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight," Kirby said. The Pentagon first detected the object Thursday evening by ground radar and shot it down "out of an abundance of caution" Friday at 1:45 p.m. ET over the frozen Arctic Ocean waters near Alaska's northeast border close to Canada.
"We're going to remain vigilant about the skies over the United States," Kirby said.
Kirby said the pilots tracking the object confirmed that it was unmanned before shooting it down. He said the object traveled over land in Alaska before it was downed.
If it turns out to be another Chinese surveillance craft, that revelation could rupture already strained relations with America's top adversary. Beyond the threat to civilian airliners, a surveillance craft could spy on several sensitive military sites in Alaska, including sophisticated radar systems and missiles designed to detect and intercept ballistic missiles headed toward the United States.
Recovery crews aboard C-130, Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters were converging on the site late Friday to recover the wreckage, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters.
John Kirby, a White House spokesman, described a "high altitude object" roughly the size of a small car traveling in Alaska's air space. He said the Pentagon was not ready to determine whether the object was a balloon, where it was from or whether it was conducting surveillance.
"It was a success," Biden told reporters about the military operation to down the object.
The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, significantly lower than the 65,000-foot altitude of last week's Chinese spy balloon, and “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight," Kirby said. The Pentagon first detected the object Thursday evening by ground radar and shot it down "out of an abundance of caution" Friday at 1:45 p.m. ET over the frozen Arctic Ocean waters near Alaska's northeast border close to Canada.
"We're going to remain vigilant about the skies over the United States," Kirby said.
Kirby said the pilots tracking the object confirmed that it was unmanned before shooting it down. He said the object traveled over land in Alaska before it was downed.
If it turns out to be another Chinese surveillance craft, that revelation could rupture already strained relations with America's top adversary. Beyond the threat to civilian airliners, a surveillance craft could spy on several sensitive military sites in Alaska, including sophisticated radar systems and missiles designed to detect and intercept ballistic missiles headed toward the United States.
Recovery crews aboard C-130, Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters were converging on the site late Friday to recover the wreckage, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters.
