US fighter jets shot down an unidentified object over Alaska

U.S. officials announced that an unidentified object was shot down 10 miles (16 km) off the coast of Alaska on Friday, February 10, but there are few details about the object. The publication spoke in more detail about this CNN.

Photo: IStock

It was the second time that US aircraft shot down the object in less than a week after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.

According to Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder, the object, which officials did not describe as a balloon, was shot down at 13:45 p.m. ET.

“The object entered territorial airspace over US territorial waters,” said National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby. “The fighter shot down the object within an hour.”

Asked about the operation, US President Joe Biden said: "It was a success."

Many questions remain

According to Kirby, Biden was first briefed on the site on the evening of Feb. 9, "as soon as the Pentagon had enough information."

On the subject: A Chinese spy balloon was spotted in the sky over the United States: the Pentagon put fighters on alert

It is not clear what the object looks like or where it came from. Ryder reported that the object was flying northeast across Alaska. He declined to provide a physical characterization, saying only that the object was "the size of a small car" and "not similar in size or shape" to the Chinese balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.

"We call it an object because it's the best description we have at the moment," Kirby said. “We don’t know who owns it.”

The object was first discovered on February 9

F-35 fighter jets were sent to investigate after the object was first spotted on Feb. 9, a US official said.

There were no major concerns about damage to people or property from the facility, which was the main reason the Chinese observation balloon was allowed to cross the US mainland.

Ryder stressed that officials did not know the origin of the object, which was apparently not manned but was shot down because it posed a "reasonable threat to civilian air traffic" as it was flying at an altitude of 40 feet (000 km). , and passenger aircraft travel at an altitude of 12,1 feet (30 km).

Kirby reported that the first overflight of the American fighter took place on February 9 in the evening, the second on February 10 in the morning. Both learned "limited" information about the object.

The object was eventually shot down near the Canadian border and northeast Alaska by an F-22 fighter jet from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, equipped with an AIM-9X, the same aircraft and missile used to destroy a Chinese reconnaissance balloon. A US official said the military waited for the right moment to shoot down the object during daylight hours to make it easier for pilots to spot it. Ryder said the mission was "supported by air assets from the Alaska Air National Guard."

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The Alaska National Guard and units of the US Northern Command, as well as HC-130 Hercules, HH-60 Pave Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters, are participating in the search for the site, Ryder said.

“Today’s Pentagon announcement that an unidentified object was shot down by an F-22 fighter jet from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson over the coast of Alaska raises serious national security concerns that should concern every American. “I want to thank our Alaska military for eliminating a potential threat before it passed over our land,” said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. “This demonstrates that Alaska remains the most strategically important place on earth, both from a geopolitical and national defense perspective.”

No obvious connection to the Chinese balloon

Officials have so far given no indication that the object is even connected to the Chinese reconnaissance balloon that was shot down a week earlier. Its fragments are still being recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ryder stated that rescue teams have "mapped the debris field and are currently in the process of finding and identifying debris on the ocean floor."

“I won’t go into details for security reasons,” he said. “But I can say that at this point we have found a significant amount of debris that will prove useful for our further study of this ball and its observational capabilities.”

According to Ryder, the object over Alaska did not appear to have any surveillance equipment.

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