White House says second 'object' shot down over Alaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The White House said U.S. Northern Command shot down a “high-altitude object” above Alaska.

NBC News reports the Department of Defense was tracking the object for the last 24 hours before President Joe Biden ordered the military to shoot it down.

During a White House briefing Friday, National Security Council official John Kirby said the object was flying at an altitude of about 40,000 feet, which reportedly posed a threat to civilian flight.

“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object and they did and it came inside our territorial waters and those waters right now are frozen,” Kirby said.

Kirby added the object was much smaller than the Chinese balloon that was recently shot down and didn’t appear to have any significant payload.

The White House doesn’t yet know who owns the object, or its purpose, but the Pentagon should have more details later on Friday afternoon.

For the latest updates, visit https://nbcnews.to/3DY4lgU.