Spokesman John Kirby said the object was "about the size of a small car" and was over a sparsely populated area. He added that President Joe Biden made the decision to drop the object, which was of unknown origin. US official: Chinese airship is capable of intelligence gathering
This comes after the United States shot down a Chinese balloon over its waters regional last Saturday. Speaking at the White House on Friday, Kirby said the object over Alaska was moving at an altitude of 40,000 feet and could pose a threat to civilian aircraft. He added that the debris field was "much smaller" than the balloon that was shot down last week off the coast of South Carolina. Kirby said intelligence officials became aware of the object Thursday night. He added that a fighter plane approached the object and assessed that it was unmanned, and this information was within reach of Biden when he made his decision. Officials have not yet determined whether the "object" is to monitor, and Kirby corrects the reporter who referred to the object as a zeppelin.
Officials have not yet determined whether the "object" is to monitor, and Kirby corrects the reporter who referred to the object as a zeppelin. The exact location of the object's drop was not determined, but the Federal Aviation Administration said it closed the airspace over the Deadhorse region of northern Alaska. No other objects of a threatening nature have been identified over the United States at this time, according to the White House. Kirby said intelligence officials became aware of the object Thursday night, "and we don't know who owns it, whether it's state-owned, corporate-owned or privately-owned." Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder confirmed that an F-22 aircraft shot down the object, which was moving at an unknown speed, with a missile at 13:45 EST (18:45 GMT).