US President Joe Biden told the CNN that the shooting down of a “high altitude object” hovering over Alaska on Friday (10) “was a success”, shortly after American national security officials disclosed that the commander in chief gave military approval for the action .
The announcement marks the second time that US fighter jets have shot down an object flying over US airspace in just under a week, following Biden’s decision to shoot down a Chinese balloon suspected of spying off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday.
This time, the president has taken more decisive action to quickly bring the object down in Alaska, but important questions about the object’s origin and its functionality remain unanswered.
After the object was first detected on Thursday (9), F-35 fighter jets were sent to investigate it, according to a US official. The object, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told a White House news conference, was flying at an altitude of 12 kilometers and “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flights.”
The fighters went to investigate the object again on Friday morning. Both approaches yielded “limited” information, Kirby told reporters.
“Some fighters flew around the object before the order to shoot it down, and the pilots’ assessment was that there was no crew,” added Kirby.
The president was first briefed on Thursday night “as soon as the Pentagon had enough information,” Kirby said, adding that on the Pentagon’s recommendation, Biden ordered the military to “drop the object — and they did.”
The object was shot down by fighter jets assigned to the US Northern Command. And US officials said the object was dropped over the frozen waters of the Arctic Ocean, near the Canadian border, about 10 miles off the north coast of Alaska. The US hopes to recover the wreckage, Kirby said.
Biden, asked later on Friday if he had any comments on the object shot down over Alaska, told the CNN : “It was a success”.
An F-22 fighter jet from Joint Air Force Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, shot down the object “at 1:45 pm Eastern Standard Time today, within U.S. sovereign airspace over U.S. territorial waters,” the U.S. press secretary said. Pentagon Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters on Friday.
He said the object was shot down by the F-22 with an AIM-9X, the same type of aircraft and missile used to shoot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
A US official noted that there were no serious concerns about collateral damage to people or property at the site when the decision to tear it down was made. US Northern Command and NORAD wanted to shoot down the object during the day because the brief hours of sunlight in the far north made it easier for a fast-moving jet to try to find and follow a slow-moving object, the officer said.
The object did not appear to have any surveillance equipment, according to a US official, which would make it smaller and likely less sophisticated than the Chinese balloon shot down last weekend.
Military officials expressed confidence that the object was not property belonging to the US military or government.
The object posed a threat to civilian flights
Ryder said the Defense Department had no details about the object’s “capabilities, purpose or origin”. He added that the object posed a reasonable threat to civilian flight safety, noting that “the object was the size of a small car, so it was not similar in size or shape to the high-altitude surveillance balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4th”.
US Northern Command’s Alaska Command coordinated the operation with help from the Alaska Air National Guard, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Ryder said.
The object shot down over Alaska was much smaller than the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down in territorial waters on Saturday. The payload from the Chinese balloon shot down last Saturday was described by US officials as being about the size of three buses, while the high-altitude object brought down on Friday was described as being the size of a small car. The US has not assigned the second flying object to any country or entity.
“We’re calling it an object because that’s the best description we have at the moment. We don’t know who owns it – whether it’s state, corporate or private, we just don’t know,” said Kirby.
The object “did not appear to be controlled and therefore (was) at the mercy of prevailing winds,” making it “much less predictable,” Kirby said.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction on Friday in the area around Deadhorse, Alaska, while the military took action against the object.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he supported the decision to take down the object.
“This afternoon, an object that violated American airspace was shot down. I was briefed on the matter and supported the decision to act. Our military and intelligence services will always work together, including through @NORADCommand, to keep people safe,” Trudeau tweeted.
Since news broke last week about the Chinese balloon floating in US airspace, new details have emerged about what is now understood to be a global surveillance operation by China’s military.
On Thursday, officials revealed they believe the spy balloons discovered by the US are part of a large fleet that is conducting surveillance operations globally. The US tracked the balloons in 40 countries and five continents.
The US developed a method to track China’s spy balloon fleet last year, the US news agency said. CNN exclusively on Friday.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
