Chinese spy balloon - Live: Pentagon recovers second 'car size' 'object' shot down by F22 jet over Alaska
The White House says Joe Biden ordered that a new high-altitude
"object" seen in the sky over Alaskan waters be shot down by US fighters.
John Kirby, NSC coordinator of strategic communications, told Friday's briefing that the object was floating
above US territory at 40,000 feet and was a "reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian air traffic.
Mr Kirby said the "object" was the size of a "small car" and "much smaller" than the spy balloon shot down last week.
Earlier, an "intact" payload from a Chinese spy balloon was found in waters off South Carolina, officials told Fox News.
The payload, which is reportedly the size of a bus, is in the Atlantic Ocean after it was shot down by a US military fighter jet late last week.
Bad weather could delay recovery of the payload with gusty winds of up to 35 mph in the area.
The debris recovered so far has been taken to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia for analysis.
To date, US intelligence has revealed that the balloon, which spent eight days in US
airspace, is "part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon programme" – something Beijing has consistently denied.
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