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The U.S. military has shot down another high-altitude object flying over Alaska Friday afternoon, according to White House spokesman John Kirby.
The object was at an altitude of 40,000 feet over Alaska when it was shot down by U.S. military Kirby said. At the recommendation of Pentagon leaders, President Biden ordered it to be shot down.
The object posed “a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flights,” according to Kirby. Unlike the Chinese Spy Balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic last week at an altitude of roughly 65,000 feet, the object shot down Friday afternoon was at an altitude that could pose a threat to commercial airline traffic.
“The predominant concern by the president was a safety of flight issue at that altitude,” Kirby said.
Another high-altitude object over the U.S. is shot down
The object fell inside U.S. territorial waters, which are currently frozen, so a recovery effort is currently underway. It is said to be much smaller than last week’s spy balloon, which was estimated to be roughly three buses in length.
The high-altitude object did not appear to be self-maneuvering, making it travel at the mercy of the winds and much less predictable.
“The president just wasn’t willing to take that risk,” Kirby said.
This is a developing story and will be updated if new information becomes available.