On the orders of President Joe Biden, the United States has just shot down a “high-flying object” above Alaska, said Friday, February 10 John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, without giving more details on its nature or its origin.
This ” object “which he said had “the size of a small car”constituted “a threat to air traffic safety”, said John Kirby. However, he specified that this object was ” much smaller “ than the Chinese balloon that the United States destroyed last Saturday, and which Washington said was carrying out espionage operations.
The US administration has been made aware ” yesterday evening “ of the presence of this object whose debris fell on frozen waters, and will try to recover them, said the spokesperson. “We do not know which entity owns this object”he hammered, for example if it is a State or a private owner.
A balloon destroyed on Saturday
Moreover, John Kirby clarified that unlike the Chinese balloon, this as yet unidentified object did not seem to have a propulsion system or controls allowing it to steer.
This announcement comes after the American army shot down on Saturday, off the coast of South Carolina, a Chinese balloon considered by the Pentagon as a spy device, intended to collect sensitive information. Beijing maintains for its part that it was a civil aerostat, mainly intended to collect meteorological data.
On Thursday, US officials said footage captured by US military aircraft showed the Chinese balloon was indeed equipped with spy tools and not intended for weather forecasting.
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