What we know about the unidentified object that was shot down in Alaska

() — An unidentified object was shot down about 16 kilometers (10 miles) off the frozen coast of Alaska on Friday afternoon, US officials announced, but data on the object is still scant.

It was the second time US aircraft had shot down an object in less than a week, following the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday.

The object, which authorities have not characterized as a balloon, was shot down at 1:45 p.m. EST, according to Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder.

“[Entró] within our territorial waters — those waters are currently frozen — but within territorial airspace and over territorial waters,” National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Friday. “A fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command shot down the object within the last hour.”

When asked about the operation Friday afternoon, President Joe Biden told : “It was a success.”

Here’s a look at what we know so far.

many unanswered questions

According to Kirby, Biden was first informed about the object on Thursday night, “as soon as the Pentagon had enough information.” “He didn’t seem to be maneuvering himself,” Kirby said.

It is not clear what the object looks like or where it came from. On Friday, Ryder said he was traveling northeast through Alaska. He declined to provide a physical characterization, saying only that it was “about the size of a small car” and “not similar in size or shape” to the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. .

“We call this an object because that’s the best description we have at the moment,” Kirby said. “We don’t know who owns it, whether it’s state, corporate or private, we just don’t know,” he added.

It was detected for the first time this Thursday

A US official said F-35 fighter jets were sent to investigate the object after first spotting it on Thursday.

There was no concern about the damage it could cause to people or property if the object were shot down, which had been the main reason the Chinese surveillance balloon was allowed to cross the US last week.

Ryder also stressed that officials do not know the origin of the object, said it appeared to be unmanned, and that it was shot down because it posed a “reasonable threat to civilian air traffic” as it was flying at 12,000 kilometers (40,000 feet).

Kirby told reporters that the first flyby by a US fighter jet occurred on Thursday night and the second on Friday morning. Both collected “limited” information about the object.

Ultimately, the object was shot down near the Canadian border and northeast Alaska by an F-22 fighter jet from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, equipped with an AIM-9X, the same aircraft and missile that was used. to shoot down the surveillance balloon. A US official said the military waited to shoot down the object during the day to make it easier for pilots to spot it. Ryder said the mission was “supported with air resources from the Alaska Air National Guard.”

The Alaska National Guard and units under US Northern Command, along with HC-130 Hercules, HH-60 Pave Hawk and CH-47 Chinook are trying to recover the object, Ryder said.

No apparent connection to the Chinese globe

A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, on February 1, 2023, in this image obtained from social media. Chase Doak/Reuters

Authorities have so far given no indication that the object is related to the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down last weekend, the remains of which are still being recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Ryder said Friday that recovery teams have “mapped the debris field” and are “in the process of searching for and identifying debris on the ocean floor.”

“While I won’t go into detail for classified information reasons,” Ryder said, “I can say that we have located a significant amount of debris so far that will be helpful in better understanding this balloon and its surveillance capabilities.”

Asked Friday if lessons learned from the China balloon helped spot the downed object over Alaska, Ryder said it was like comparing “apples and oranges.”

The object did not appear to have any surveillance equipment, according to a US official, which would make it smaller and likely less sophisticated than the Chinese balloon.

‘s Maegan Vázquez, Betsy Klein and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.