US shoots down 'car-sized object' over Alaska
A US F-22 fighter jet on Friday shot down an unidentified object flying over Alaska, US officials said. A Sidewinder missile downed the object, which was about the size of a small car, said US Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson. "We don't know who owns this object," said White House spokesperson John Kirby, adding that it was unclear where it began its flight. President Joe Biden ordered the shootdown, which was announced from the White House. On February 4, another US F-22 fighter jet brought down what Beijing has said was a civilian research vessel off the coast of South Carolina following its week-long journey across the United States and portions of Canada. The US government called it a surveillance balloon. The Pentagon and the White House declined to give a detailed description of the latest object, saying only that it was far smaller than the Chinese balloon. The Pentagon said it was flying at about 12,000 metres, posing a risk to civilian air traffic. It was shot down over the far northeastern part of Alaska near the Canadian border where it had been traveling in northeasterly direction. The Pentagon said it was first detected on February 9 using ground radars. F-35 aircraft were then sent to investigate further. Ryder said American pilots who flew alongside it determined that no human was aboard. He added it was incapable of maneuvering and did not resemble an airplane. Ryder and other officials would not say whether it could simply be a weather balloon or another type of balloon. "It wasn't an aircraft per se," Ryder told a news briefing. The F-22 shot down the object at 1.45 pm US eastern time. Asked why Biden's authorisation was necessary, Ryder acknowledged that the US military commander overseeing North American airspace had the authority to shoot down objects that posed a military risk or risk to the American people. "In this particular case, it was determined that this posed a reasonable threat to air traffic," Ryder said. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it closed some airspace in northern Alaska to support Department of Defence activities. (Reuters)