Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the two latest unidentified objects shot down by US fighter jets over North America were high-altitude balloons.
(Bloomberg) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the two latest unidentified objects shot down by US fighter jets over North America were high-altitude balloons.
Schumer said Sunday he was briefed the previous night by White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. One of the objects was downed over Alaska on Friday and the other was brought down over Canada on Saturday, following the highly publicized shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4.
Asked on ABC’s “This Week” whether the two latest objects were balloons, Schumer said, “They believe they were, yes. But much smaller than the first one.”
“Both of those — one over Canada, one over Alaska — were at 40,000 feet” and were determined to pose a risk to civil aviation, Schumer said.
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