U.S. shoots down ‘high-altitude object’ over Alaska airspace, White House says

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Friday afternoon shot down a “high-altitude object” flying over Alaska airspace that the Department of Defense was tracking over the last 24 hours, National Security Council official John Kirby confirmed at the White House.

“The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of 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 told reporters at the White House briefing.

Fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command took down the object “within the last hour,” Kirby said around 2:30 p.m. ET.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.