Less than a week after the military knocked down a Chinese balloon that had flown across the United States, a U.S. F-22 fighter jet on Friday gunned down another unidentified object flying high above Alaska, according to American authorities, Reuters reports.
According to American Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, a Sidewinder missile brought down the most recent object, which was approximately the size of a compact car.
“We don’t know who owns this object,” said White House spokesperson John Kirby, adding that it was unclear where it began its flight, per Reuters.
It was stated by the White House that President Joe Biden had authorized the shootdown.
The U.S. government said that a Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down on February 4 off the coast of South Carolina after a week-long voyage through the United States and some of Canada. This was done by another F-22 fighter jet from the United States. It was a research vessel used by the Chinese government, according to that country.
The president received criticism from several parliamentarians for his delay in bringing down the Chinese balloon. In order to avoid casualties from falling debris, the U.S. military advised waiting until it was over the ocean.
The latest item was far smaller than the Chinese balloon, but the Pentagon and the White House declined to provide any details.
Even after a day of observation, U.S. authorities refrained from speculating about the nature of the object. This raised concerns about what sort of object could be so challenging to detect by seasoned U.S. pilots and intelligence officials.
It was initially discovered on Thursday, according to the Pentagon, using ground radars. Then an F-35 was deployed to look into it. The UFO was endangering civilian aviation traffic as it flew at a height of around 40,000 feet (12,190 meters) northeast.
The target was shot down over frozen U.S. territorial seas close to the Canadian border, off the coast of northern Alaska. Officials said that retrieving the object’s fragments from the ice would be far simpler than doing the same for the Chinese balloon, a portion of which drowned in the water after being shot down.
According to Ryder, American pilots who were flying beside the most recent item before it was shot down discovered there were no people inside. He said that it was immobile and did not look like an airplane. Ryder and other government representatives refused to disclose whether it may just be a weather balloon or another kind of balloon.
At 1:45 EST, the F-22 jet destroyed the object.
Ryder admitted that the U.S. military commander in charge of North American airspace had the power to take down anything that presented a military risk or a risk to the American people when asked why Biden’s consent was required.
“In this particular case, it was determined that this posed a reasonable threat to air traffic,” Ryder said.
Because to activity related to the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had to block certain airspace in northern Alaska.
U.S. authorities have been searching the ocean for wreckage and the traces of electronic devices since after the Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon that was 200 feet tall (60 meters) was shot down.
“Glad to see the president act swiftly on this new intrusion to our airspace,” said Senator Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
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