Several days after shooting down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, US fighter jets shot down an object that entered US airspace over Alaska on Friday. The White House and Pentagon officials say President Joe Biden ordered the jets to shoot down the object, which flew at 40,000 feet, because it posed a threat to civilian aviation.
The object was the size of a small car, according to Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder, who said it did not appear to be maneuverable. It entered US airspace on Thursday, and was spotted by ground radar.
On Friday, Northern Command scrambled two F-22 fighter jets from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage to intercept the object. It was fired upon by one of the jets, which launched an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
A F-22 Raptor is a stealth fighter that was designed to carry out guided air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq. It is the most powerful combat jet in the U.S. arsenal, and has been deployed to many war zones, including the war in Iraq, and to support US forces in Afghanistan.
This aircraft is also the same type that shot down the Chinese balloon last Saturday, and it has been used to bomb targets in Iraq and Syria since 2015, according to Defense Department records. The jet is designed to operate effectively at 40,000 feet, where the Chinese balloon was seen flying.
The F-22 is a highly versatile fighter that is a favorite among the military, and it has been used to strike targets in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is also a popular aircraft for special operations missions, such as counter-terrorism patrols and surveillance of high-profile targets.
Despite its low profile, the F-22 has proven to be an effective weapon in combat, particularly in the skies above the Iraqi desert during the Persian Gulf War in 1991. In fact, it is so effective that a US-led coalition of Western nations fought an entire series of air campaigns over Iraq without losing any fixed-wing aircraft.
Kirby described the object as “cylindrical and silver-ish gray.” It seemed to be floating, he added. Despite this, it did not appear to be maneuverable, and the pilots did not see any sign that it had propulsion.
As they were preparing to shoot it down, the F-22s did not get any closer than about 1,000 yards. They did not get any pictures or visuals of the object, Kirby explained, and it was impossible to determine its direction.
By Friday morning, after two attempts to get more information, the pilots were able to judge that it was not manned. That led to the decision to shoot it down, Kirby told reporters.
The object was traveling in a northeasterly direction, and was posing a threat to civilian air traffic, Mr Kirby said. The president gave the order to shoot it down, following the advice of military leaders.
