Spokesman John Kirby says object, the size of a small car, was ordered by President Biden to be downed
• Chinese ‘spy balloon’ wakes up world to new era of war on edge of space
A US fighter jet has shot down an unidentified high-altitude object over Alaska that was the size of a small car but the nature, purpose or origin of the object remains unclear.
US officials said the targeted aircraft brought down on Friday was considerably smaller than the Chinese balloon downed last Saturday over the Atlantic, and carefully avoided characterising it as a balloon, drone or plane, giving nothing away about the description of the object other than its rough size, its altitude and direction of travel.
