The Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Defense, shoots down another high-altitude object in the sky above Alaska. Prior to this, the U.S. Defense had just shot down a Chinese high-altitude spy balloon that was seen over the city of Montana which was shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
The news of the taking down of the balloon was announced by the White House, the U.S. Presidential residency.
John Kirby, a spokesperson from the White House was not ready to describe the object just as a balloon. He said that the White House had made the decision to call it an object because that was the best description they have with them right at the moment.
The object was seen at an altitude of 40,000 feet, a lower altitude same as those of airlines, and also seemed to be a potential threat to the civilians. The object had a size equivalent to that of a small car.
The aircraft seemed like a much more advanced one than the previous one. This one had propellers that made its motion easier. The payload carried by the balloon had an estimated size of a jetliner.
The previous surveillance balloon was seen at a much higher altitude than this one, approximately 60,000 feet, much above the altitude at which the airlines carry out the operations. It had a size equivalent to that of three school buses.
When the surveillance balloon was spotted the President ordered to shoot it down immediately. Although the head of the Northern Command and the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration recommended against it due to the concerns of the action being a hazard to the residents and civilians below it.
It was spotted over the sky of Billings which is the largest city in the state of Montana. There were also building sites and active businesses below the spotted balloon.
The U.S. Defense has shot down the first balloon in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina using a fighter jet. The U.S. Navy was carrying out operations to recover the balloon and to subject it to a detailed examination.
The high-altitude object was shot down deploying a Sidewinder air-to-air missile from an F-22 fighter plane far from the northern coast of Alaska. It was confirmed by the pilots of the fighter plane that the object spotted was unmanned and was not operated by anyone.
The object was noticed by the U.S. military on the night of Thursday. When informed about this, Joe Biden, the President of the United States of America, commanded to shoot it down on the morning of Friday. The object was shot down on the same day in the afternoon.
Melissa Dalton, the Assistant Secretary of Defense stated that a key part of the calculus for this operation was the ability to salvage, understand, and explicit the capabilities of the high-altitude balloon.
The shooting down of the previous balloon had caused political tensions between Washinton and Beijing as the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had rescheduled a visit to the capital of China.
The officials from the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense of the United States, stated that the Defense was able to immediately bring down the object over water in an attempt to easily avoid the dilemma that the balloon would pose if it drifts to other overpopulated areas.
The commanders of the defense had already recommended to the President to wait until the balloon drifts over the water to shoot it down in order to avoid the chances of the debris hitting the civilians and properties on the ground.
As per the statements of three of the officials from the U.S. Defense, it could be noted that the U.S. government does not possess any information or details about the origins of the balloon. The officials said that the government did not know who owned or sent the object seen above Alaska.
Also Read:- Chinese Spy Balloon Part Of A Broader Military Surveillance Operation?
There have been reports from a number of U.S. officials that they consider the shot-down object as a balloon. Although the Department of Defense issued a statement that the ballon on shooting down had hit the frozen sea below and broken into multiple pieces.
The statement added that as the balloon had broken into many pieces it was not easy to identify what exactly the object was; whether it was a balloon or drone, or a part of any other surveillance system.
Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada tweeted in support of the action undertaken by the US government, as the broken pieces are to be retrieved from the Arctic Ocean near the territory of Canada.
The object was spotted on the radar of America at about 9 pm on Thursday. The U.S. Northern Command sent an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) surveillance craft shortly afterward. The surveillance craft was accompanied by another aerial refueling craft to carry out the tracking purposes.
The US has not come across any affirmative indications of military threat to people on the ground from the high altitude object.
Read More:- Chinese Spy Balloon Spotted Over Western US Says Pentagon
