Military Downed ‘High Altitude Object Over Alaska Air Space’ in Past Hour
“….tracking for ‘the last 24 hours,’ adding ‘the object…posed a reasonable threat'”
Newsbusters’ Curtis Houck tweeted out the video at 2:34 PM ET. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed the military shot down another flying object:
KIRBY: “So, I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours. Out — the — 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 in inside our territorial waters. Now, those waters right now are frozen, but inside territorial airspace and over territorial waters. Fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command took down the object within the last hour.”
#BREAKING: John Kirby confirms the Biden administration ordered fighter aircraft shot down "a high altitude object over Alaska air space…within the last hour" that we had been tracking for "the last 24 hours," adding "the object…posed a reasonable threat" pic.twitter.com/8Aa70xZ3zj
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 10, 2023
John Kirby to NBC's @KellyO on a "high-altitude object" being shot down over U.S. air space in Alaska: "[T]he President absolutely was involved in this decision. He ordered it…We're calling this an object b/c that's the best description we have rn. We do not know who owns it" pic.twitter.com/nuYTyWceDE
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 10, 2023
NBC's @KellyO: "Is it now the policy…if unidentified aircraft are over U.S. territory that it is likely the President will…shoot it down?
Kirby: Biden "will always act in the best interest of our national security and in the safety and security of the American people." pic.twitter.com/rkcioBI149
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 10, 2023
.@JacquiHeinrich: "We don't don't know what intelligence or communications could have been collected or what devices they were targeting…How can [Biden] say it was not a major breach"?
Kirby says "we knew the basic flight path" & thus took "steps at sensitive military sites" pic.twitter.com/TjFqTqGK6G
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 10, 2023
AP's @ZekeJMiller: "[D]o you know what you shot down? That it wasn't just a harmless weather balloon…that there was some motivation to fly this over U.S. air space, or is it truly–"
Kirby: "I think we're going to try to learn more…[I]t was an object at 40,000 feet." pic.twitter.com/l6IBQi3MLj
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 10, 2023
.@Weijia: Would the U.S. give any credence to the Chinese argument…this…accidentally veered off course & ended up where it did?
Kirby: No.@Weijia: So was it targeting…military sites?Kirby: What we know is…the flight path…took it over sensitive military sites. pic.twitter.com/H64azzZQ4I
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 10, 2023
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Comments
Why couldn’t they wait until it had crossed over the entire United States like the other balloon ?+
Agreed, let’s be consistent! And according to Biteme, it’s best to let it fly over the US so we can study it!
Because they shot down Amelia Earhart. Don’t tell anyone.
-“Hey, Xi, please send me another balloon so that I can look good this time.”
-“OK, Joe. I will send a birthday party balloon. You can shoot that one down.”
-“Thanks, Xi.”
What? And not wait until it flew over South Carolina?
Gaslighting is all that comes to mind when a lying regime tells you they did something. The last ballon couldn’t be shot down so why can this?
To channel Whoopi, Alaska isn’t America-America.
“We’re calling this an object b/c that’s the best description we have rn”
So was it going 300 MPH or 3 MPH? Throw us a bone, here.
I hope they have a valid duck hunting license.
Being at 40,000 ft definitely more a hazards wonder if it just didn’t get up to maximum altitude.
The previous balloon’s mission was to fly over specific strategic sites. Biden could not block the Chinese from getting the information that they were after without getting in trouble with part of the Left’s chain of command. This one was either a gaslight effort, or a lower priority mission that China let him have.
Subotai Bahadur
I want to watch the alien autopsy.
That’s right. The unidentified flying ojbect could’ve been an alien spacecraft.
And the Alies are pissed and have decided to declare war on Earth. We’re saved.
I’ll have my wife call you after I die.
Sarah Palins Cessna.
Maybe this was just a weather balloon, and bipolar Biden again overreacts one extreme to another.
The Pottery Barn slams the doors closed when a Biden walks by.
All your balloons are belong to us.
I would like to know what they used to bring this one down, the AIM-9X Sidewinder used on the balloon are $472,000 each.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/32277/here-is-what-each-of-the-pentagons-air-launched-missiles-and-bombs-actually-cost
They used an “A9X missile” fired from an F-22, per Fox news.
…do airplanes not shoot bullets anymore? It’s been a while since I watches Top Gun.
That was my question also. Then I remembered from the 60s that the F-4 Phantom originally went into action without “guns”. When the missiles proved un-useful in closer engagements an after-market pod with guns/cannons was created to attach to the ship.
Sometimes we learn and sometimes we learn nothing…..
The F-22 is armed with an M61A2 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon. The effective range of the M61A2 is 600 meters. The effective range of the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile is around 22 miles. There’s no reason to risk getting close enough to use the gun when you can stand off from a safe distance and engage the target with a missile.
Yes, missiles are expensive, but everything having to do with the operation of a modern jet fighter is expensive. It’s not about money, it’s about using the most effective weapon for said engagement.
You may be onto something there. It is an insidious plot by the PRC to deplete our stock of $500K missiles by flooding us with 50¢ balloons.
problem is:
nobody with half a brain* believes anything put out in the major media or anything coming out of DC
* this includes more than 90% of the coastal Liberals and all of the Socialist-Progessives who follow Bernie or are somewhat to the left of him
I cannot think of anything that better describes how pathetic Democrats are than ChiComs repeatedly sending Montgolfier aircraft over the U.S.
Thank you, Democrat voters!
Fun fact: spy balloons were first used in the Civil War. They required manned observers, of course, using wig-wag or telegraph wires to communicate intelligence.
It’s good to see the American left returning to its roots.
Fun Fact: spy balloons were first used in 1794 during the French Revolution.
Which was 11 years after the Montgolfier brothers first flew over Paris.
Yeah. I just said that so my stock valuation would dip $100 billion. I bought puts on myself. Now I’m rich!
I forgot to be explicit that I was talking about the US. My own link does mention the French thing.
Anyone else think that Kirby looks like Chris Wallace?
So, either the balloons are a problem and Brandon screwed up letting it fly all across the US only shooting it down when his expected media supporters failed to cover as usual, clear sign the Remove Brandon Campaign is well under way, or they are not a threat so shooting down the one over Alaska was ridiculous posturing. Which is it? I’ll go with the first dereliction of duty.
Brandon has allowed an invasion over our southern border with the Chinese Fentanyl coming with the people, sold our strategic oil to China and now is letting Chinese Spy Balloons float over our most sensitive military sights.
Boy, China sure is getting it’s moneys worth out of Brandon & Co.
And just as FJB feared, it landed on a school… of fish.
Great, now we can look forward to fish egg shortages.