The US military recently shot down an unidentified object in US airspace over Alaska, a senior official said Friday.
“I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours. The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a briefing.
Kirby said that out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Joe Biden ordered the US military to down the object. On that order, a fighter jet assigned to US Northern Command shot down the object off the northeastern part of Alaska, near the Canadian border.
“We’re calling this an object, because that’s the best description we have right now,” Kirby said. “We do not know who owns it, whether it’s state owned or corporate owned or privately owned. We just don’t know.”
This incident comes nearly a week after a US Air Force F-22 fighter jet fired a single AIM 9X air-to-air missile to take down a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.