On Sunday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command detected and shot down an aerial object that had flown over Lake Huron in Michigan at an altitude of approximately 20,000 feet.
Following President Biden’s direction and recommendations from Department of Defense leadership, the object was brought down due to concerns about its path and altitude, the DOD said in a statement.
The airborne object was linked to a radar signal detected over Montana, indicating that the object flew near sensitive defense locations. Though it was not assessed as a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, it was determined to be a safety flight hazard and a threat due to possible surveillance abilities.
An F-16 fighter jet brought down the object after firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
The department said its team will begin recovery operations to know more about the object.
Last week, DOD News reported that an Air Force F-22 fighter jet fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder to take down a “high-altitude object” off the Alaskan coast on Friday, a day after NORAD first spotted the unmanned object.
Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, DOD press secretary, said the object posed a threat to civilian aviation as it was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet.
“We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin,” Ryder said.
These recent actions came days after the U.S. government put down a high-altitude surveillance balloon belonging to China off the coast of South Carolina.