Kirby: “We don’t know if it belongs to the state, corporations or the private sector”

The United States said that a high-rise object was shot down off the coast of Alaska. US President Joe Biden ordered a fighter jet to shoot down an unidentified “high-rise object” on Friday, the White House said. And the media sensationally suggested that it could be a UFO.

John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said the unmanned object was “the size of a small car” and posed a “reasonable threat” to civil aviation. He noted that the purpose and origin of the object is unclear.

The incident happened a week after the US military destroyed the Chinese hot air balloon over US territorial waters. Mr. Kirby said the debris field of Friday’s downing was “much, much smaller” than the balloon downed off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday.

The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,000 m) over the northern coast of Alaska. At 20 to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), it had already flown over Alaska and was over the sea heading for the North Pole when it was shot down. It is emphasized that commercial airlines can fly at altitudes up to 45,000 feet.

Helicopters and transport aircraft were used to collect debris from the frozen waters of the Beaufort Sea (marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean, washing the northern coasts of Canada and Alaska). This object was first discovered on Thursday evening.

Kirby said that two fighter jets approached the site and assessed that no one was on board, and this information was brought to Mr. Biden, after which he made a decision:

“We are going to remain vigilant regarding our airspace. The President considers his obligation to protect our national security interests paramount.”

According to ABC News, the object appears to have had no engine. It appeared floating, “cylindrical and silver grey,” according to Martha Raddatz, the network’s chief global affairs correspondent, citing an unnamed US official.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the object was “not similar in size or shape” to last week’s China balloon. He said an F-22 shot down the object with a Sidewinder missile on Friday at 13:45 EST (1845 GMT). The combat aircraft was raised from the joint base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.

General Ryder noted that a significant amount of debris had already been recovered. They were loaded onto ships and taken to “laboratories for further analysis.” Officials said they have not yet determined whether the object was used for observation, and Mr. Kirby corrected a journalist for calling it a balloon.

Exactly where the object was shot down was not specified, but the Federal Aviation Administration said it closed approximately ten square miles of US airspace over Deadhorse in northern Alaska before the F-22 fired. It’s about 130 miles from the Canadian border. Justin Trudeau, the country’s prime minister, said on Twitter that he was informed of “an object that violated US airspace” and “supported the decision to take action.”

According to information from the White House, no other objects threatening security have been detected over the territory of the United States at the present time. Kirby also noted that the object did not have the maneuverability of a Chinese balloon and was “virtually subject to the whim of the wind.” writes Air Force.

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