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Watch: Moment Chinese ‘spy balloon’ is shot down over Atlantic Ocean
The White House says that Joe Biden ordered that a new high-altitude “object” that appeared in the skies above Alaskan waters to be shot down by US fighters.
John Kirby, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications, told a Friday briefing that the object was floating above US territory at 40,000ft and was a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian air traffic.
Mr Kirby said the “object” was the size of a “small car” and “much, much smaller” than the spy balloon shot down last week.
Earlier, the “intact” payload from the Chinese spy balloon has been found in the waters off South Carolina, officials told Fox News.
The payload, which is reportedly the size of a bus, has been in the Atlantic Ocean since it was shot down by US military fighter jets last weekend.
Bad weather could delay the recovery of the payload with strong winds of up to 35mph in the region.
Debris recovered so far has been taken to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.
To date, US intelligence has revealed that the balloon, which spent eight days over US airspace, is “part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon program” – something which Beijing continues to deny.
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said that the balloon incident “confirms a pattern of Chinese behaviour” using “different types of intelligence and surveillance platforms” around the world.
Where in Alaska did military shoot down flying ‘object’ days after intercepting Chinese spy balloon?
The region is home to key US oil infrastructure.
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 21:31
Pentagon gives details on shooting down of new ‘object’
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder said that an F-22 fighter jet out of Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska used a sidewinder missile to take the “object” down.
”No indication at this time that it was manoeuvrable. It entered US airspace and we took it down,” he told a Friday press conference.
“The important thing to understand here is that any time we detect anything we observe it and then take appropriate action. In this particular case, it was operating at an altitude that posed a reasonable threat to civilian air traffic and the president decided to take it down.”
(Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 20:55
White House confirms US shot down another unidentified object
White House confirms US shot down another unidentified object
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 20:42
Where did US shoot down latest ‘object’ in airspace
The object was shot down by fighters from the US Northern Command, near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
(The Independent)
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 20:27
Department of Defense now holding media briefing
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig Gen Pat Ryder now holding a briefing.
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 20:16
US shoots down ‘high-altitude object’ over Alaska, White House says
The incident comes a week after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down over South Carolina.
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 20:15
White House says ‘object’ was size of ‘small car’
“We are calling this an “object” because that is the best description we have right now,” said Mr Kirby.
“We do not know who owns it, whether it is state-owned or corporate-owned or privately owned we just don’t know.
“We don’t understand the full purpose, we don’t have any information that would confirm a stated purpose for this object.
“We do expect to be able to recover the debris since it fell not only within our territorial space but what we believe is frozen water. A recovery effort will be made and we are hopeful it will be successful and we can learn more about it.
“It was much, much smaller than the spy balloon we took down last Saturday.
“The way it was described to me was roughly the size of a small car as opposed to a payload the size of two or three buses. Much much smaller and not of the same, no significant payload if you will.”
(AFP via Getty Images)
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 20:00
John Kirby gives details on shooting down of new object over Alaskan waters
“I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high altitude object over Alaskan airspace in the last 24 hours,” said Mr Kirby on Friday from the White House briefing room.
“The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 ft and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of the Pentagon President Biden ordered the military to down the object, and they did.
“It came inside our territorial waters, those waters right now are frozen, but inside our territorial airspace. Fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command took down the object within the last hour.”
(AFP via Getty Images)
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 19:45
White House confirms US fighter jets have shot down a new ‘object’ over Alaska
The White House has confirmed that Joe Biden has ordered US fighter jets to shoot down a new high-altitude object flying at around 40,000 ft above Alaskan waters.
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 19:33
US set to sanction Chinese companies linked to balloon
The US is set to add Chinese companies linked to the spy balloon to its export blacklist, people familiar with the situation have told Bloomberg.
It comes as the payload of the balloon has been located in the waters off South Carolina and is set to be retrieved by the FBI.
Graeme Massie10 February 2023 19:29
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