US shoots down four ‘flying objects’: What we know so far
Three objects shot down by American fighter jets were likely used for commercial or other “benign” purposes, according to a prevailing theory among intelligence officials announced by the White House.
“The intelligence community’s considering as a leading explanation that these could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” White House National Security Council strategic communication coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
Officials have ruled out that the objects are government vessels, and intelligence suggests they are not linked to China, which is accused of sending a massive surveillence balloon across the US earlier this month. The US military has recovered “significant debris” from that aircraft after an F-22 shot it down roughly 10 miles off the coast of South Carolina on 4 February.
Congressional Republicans have pointed to that incident and the recent intrusion of three smaller objects in North American airspace as evidence of President Joe Biden’s failure to confront China, while Chinese officials have accused the US of “illegally” deploying balloons into its own airspace in recent days.
