US says it shot down ‘high-altitude object’ over Alaska

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Official says Washington does not know who owns the object, days after an alleged Chinese ‘spy’ balloon flew over US.

The United States has shot down a high-altitude object “roughly the size of a small car” over the northwestern state of Alaska, a White House spokesman said, stressing that its origins were not immediately known.

The incident on Friday came less than a week after US forces brought down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon after it crossed the country over several days. Beijing has said the device was a weather research aircraft that had “accidentally” blown into American airspace.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Friday’s object was flying at 12,000m (40,000 ft) over Alaska, posing a threat to civilian aviation, and it was brought down at the orders of US President Joe Biden.

“We don’t know who owns this object,” Kirby said during a news conference, adding that it was significantly smaller than the Chinese balloon that flew over the country last week.

“We’re calling this an object, because that’s the best description we have right now,” he said. “We don’t have any information that would confirm a stated purpose for this object.”

Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder said the US military was working to recover debris from the object.

“We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin,” Ryder told reporters later on Friday.

He noted that the object was “not similar in size or shape” to the Chinese balloon that was brought down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

Asked whether there are indications that the object over Alaska may be linked to China, Ryder reiterated that the Pentagon does not know where it came from. “The primary concern again was the potential hazard to civil flight. And so again, we’ll know more later,” he added.

Last week’s Chinese balloon measured approximately 60 metres (200 ft) tall and was carrying a long sensor package underneath, which the head of US Northern Command, General Glen VanHerck, said earlier this week was about the size of a small, regional jet.

While Beijing has said the balloon was an “unmanned civilian airship” that was primarily gathering weather data, Washington denounced its presence in US airspace as an “unacceptable” violation of the country’s sovereignty.

US officials have said the device was “clearly for intelligence surveillance”.

The incident has fuelled rising tensions between the US and China amid already intensifying competition between the two superpowers.

Ties between Beijing and Washington have soured over numerous issues in recent years, including trade, the status of Taiwan, China’s claims in the South China Sea and a continuing US push against growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The Biden administration also has faced condemnation from Republicans, who have questioned why the US president did not order the military to shoot the device down earlier.

Biden has said his government is not seeking confrontation with China, which condemned the decision to shoot down the balloon, but he has repeatedly warned Beijing against threatening US sovereignty.