The Pentagon shot down an unidentified "high-altitude object" over northeastern Alaska near the Canadian border on Friday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a briefing.

What You Need To Know

  • The Pentagon shot down an unidentified "high-altitude object" over northeastern Alaska near the Canadian border on Friday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said

  • President Joe Biden ordered the object shot down "out of an abundance of caution" and at the recommendation of Pentagon officials, Kirby said

  • Kirby said that "we don't have any information that would confirm a stated purpose for this object" and noted that "we do expect to be able to recover the debris"

  • Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. has "no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin"

"The Department of Defense was tracking a high altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours," Kirby told reporters at a White House briefing on Friday. "The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian."

President Joe Biden ordered the object shot down "out of an abundance of caution" and at the recommendation of Pentagon officials, Kirby said, noting that it was shot down over frozen waters. A U.S. fighter pilot viewed the object and determined that it was unmanned.

"We’re calling this an ‘object’ because that’s the best description we have right now," he added. "We don’t know who owns it."

Kirby noted that it was much smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina less than a week ago – "roughly the size of a small car" –  with "no significant payload," and lacked similar capabilities to maneuver.

Kirby said that "we don't have any information that would confirm a stated purpose for this object" and noted that "we do expect to be able to recover the debris."

“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace,” Kirby pledged. “The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount.”

As Brazil's president arrived at the White House on Friday for a meeting, Biden told reporters that the operation to shoot down the object "was a success."

In a subsequent press briefing, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. has "no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin," meaning officials have not yet determined whether it came from China. 

"We will know more once we're able to potentially recover some of those materials," Ryder added. "But the primary concern again was the potential hazard to civilian flight." 

The object, which was traveling in a northeastern direction when it was taken down, was shot down by an F-22 aircraft with an AIM-9X air-to-air missile. Helicopters are preparing to recover debris from the frozen waters near Alaska as of Friday afternoon, officials said.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.

Spectrum News' Austin Landis contributed to this report.