US President Joe Biden on Friday shot down a still unknown object from the sky over the state of Alaska. It is not known whether the weather is a “spy balloon”.
The first signs of the unknown object arrived Thursday, according to the White House. Due to the fact that it flew at an altitude of 12 kilometers, it posed a danger to passenger aircraft. Therefore, it was decided to launch the object from the air by a combat aircraft.
According to the White House, nothing is known about the object, except for its size. The object was much smaller than the huge Chinese balloon that was knocked down last week and, according to the Americans, was used to spy. Friday’s object was the size of a car; last week’s was the size of three buses.
Pilots of combat aircraft, taking a closer look at the object, concluded that there were no people on board. The Pentagon spokesman did not say on Friday whether it was a balloon, but said it was “not necessarily” an aircraft.
The White House expects to recover the object, as it has descended into US territorial waters. As soon as it is found, more details will probably also be known. The airspace of Alaska has been partially closed so that the object could be brought down.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was briefed and supported the decision to shoot the object from the air. “Our armies and intelligence agencies will always work together to create a safe situation,” he said of ties with neighboring US.
About the author: Rick Culpepper
Rick Culpepper is of those journalists who dig the topic to the very bottom. He is often late with the delivery of the piece, but always does it perfectly. In his spare time, he collects data for one of the most high-profile investigations of corruption in the EU.
