Pentagon: Unknown object that posed 'reasonable threat' shot down over Alaska

Biden: Chinese spy balloon was not major national security threat

US officials knew the Chinese were trying to watch us with their massive spy balloon. Now the pentagon believes they were attempting to listen, too, using multiple antennae to collect electronic conversations and solar panels to power collection sensors. Fox's Caroline Shively reports from Washington.

The Pentagon said an unknown object flying over United States airspace was shot down Friday.

According to the Associated Press, the object was 40,000 feet above the ground and was spotted over Alaska.

The White House's National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the object posed a "reasonable threat" to civilian and commercial aircraft.

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MYRTLE BEACH, USA - FEBRUARY 05: Ships scan the sea during efforts to retrieve and recover the Chinese spy balloon after Chinese spy balloon was shot down in Myrtle Beach SC, United States on February 05, 2023. (Photo by Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Kirby told the White House press pool that President Joe Biden ordered military officials to take down the threat immediately.

MORE: Chinese spy balloon could collect intelligence signals, US says

U.S. shot down spy balloon 'object' over Alaska, White House reports

The White House announced that a U.S. fighter jet shot down an 'object' the size of a small car over Alaska on Friday morning.

The object was said to be the size of a small car.

Officials said the UFO fell into U.S. waters, similarly to the Chinese spy balloon that was shot out of the sky off the coast of South Carolina a week prior.