The United States is reporting that it shot down an unidentified flying object over Alaska just about a week after it shot down a Chinese balloon that was flying over the country. The object was said to be about the size of a small car.
The pentagon chief spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, said an F-22 fighter jet shot down the object using a Sidewinder missile. The strike was ordered by President Joe Bidden.
There is no information about the ownership of the object or where it bagan its flight.
The Pentagon said the object was far smaller than the Chinese balloon and was posing a risk to civilian air traffic.
The object was shot down over the Alaskan coast where the waters are frozen, so it would be much easier to pick up the debris unlike that of the Chinese balloon where some of the debris sunk to the bottom of the ocean, making retrieval much harder.
It is suspected that the Chinese balloon might have been engaged in espionage activities given the type of electronic equipment discovered on board.
