President Joe Biden told CNN that the shoot down a “high-altitude object” hovering over Alaska on Friday “was a success,” shortly after American national security officials disclosed that the commander-in-chief gave the US military approval to take the action.
The announcement – marking the second time American fighter jets have taken down an object flying over US airspace in a little less than a week – comes after the administration was subjected to a slew of questions about the timing of Biden’s decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday. This time, the president took more decisive action to swiftly take down the object near Alaska, but key questions about the origin of the object and its functionality remain unanswered.
After the object was first detected on Thursday, F-35 fighter jets were sent to up to investigate, according to a US official. The object, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said during a White House press briefing, was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight.”
Along with the effort by F-35s on Thursday, fighter aircraft also engaged with the object again Friday morning. Both engagements yielded “limited” information, Kirby told reporters.
“We were able to get some fighter aircrafts up and around it before the order to shoot it down, and the pilots assessment was this was not manned,” Kirby added.
The president was first briefed Thursday night “as soon as the Pentagon had enough information,” Kirby said, adding that at the recommendation of the Pentagon, Biden ordered the military “to down the object – and they did.”
The object was brought down by fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command. And US officials have said the…
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