U.S. shoots down ‘high-altitude’ object over Alaska – National | Globalnews.ca

The United States shot down a “high-altitude” object as it flew over Alaska near the northern Canadian border on Friday, White House officials confirmed amid ongoing concerns over Chinese surveillance balloons flying over North America.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby would not say if the object was a balloon or what entity owned it. He said the object, about the size of a “small car,” was flying at 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat” to civilian aircraft.

President Joe Biden gave the order to shoot down the object “out of an abundance of caution” and at the Pentagon’s recommendation, Kirby added.

The incident came a week after U.S. and Canadian officials first confirmed a Chinese surveillance balloon had flown over Canada and across the continental U.S. over the course of several days. The balloon was ultimately shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.

Kirby said the object shot down Friday was “much, much smaller” than the Chinese balloon and was not carrying a “significant payload.” Efforts are underway to recover the object, which was first detected Thursday evening.

Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the origin and capabilities of the object won’t be known until it is recovered and assessed. He was careful to not say whether the object was a balloon or had any surveillance capabilities.

He also denied suggestions the Pentagon was bowing to political pressure by shooting this object down as soon as it was detected over Alaska. Some Republicans have criticized Biden for not ordering to shoot down the balloon sooner, which the Pentagon has defended by citing the potential risk to safety on the ground.

“We’re going to judge each of these objects on its own merits,” Ryder said.

2:56
NATO chief Stoltenberg, US’ Blinken warn of growing Chinese military surveillance, threats after balloon incident

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Friday, Defence Minister Anita Anand did not say Friday where the earlier balloon was when it first entered Canadian airspace, or what locations it passed over and for how long it was over Canada before heading south.

The U.S. navy and coast guard are working to recover pieces of the downed balloon for analysis and they’re working to determine if it collected any intelligence from either country, Anand said.

The balloon’s sighting has reignited tensions between the U.S. and China and raised renewed fears of foreign surveillance and interference by Beijing.

— with files from Aaron D’Andrea

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.