The mystery objects shot down by US fighter jets were 'most likely' harmless civilian objects, Biden says

• Three mysterious objects were shot down by the US military in North American airspace last weekend.
• President Biden said nothing suggests these objects were related to any surveillance programs.

President Joe Biden on Thursday said no evidence suggests that the three unidentified objects shot down by US fighter jets in recent days are related to any country's surveillance program and were "most likely" civilian objects.

"We don't yet know exactly what these three objects were," Biden said in long-awaited remarks. "The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research."

US Air Force fighter jets downed three aerial objects operating in North American airspace in three separate engagements on February 10, 11, and 12. Officials have yet to reveal publically what those objects were.

Biden addressed the Chinese surveillance balloon that entered US airspace late last month, noting that his administration put restrictions on six firms that directly support Beijing's People's Liberation Army aerospace program.

Biden, who has drawn criticism for not acting immediately as it traversed the country for a week, said he gave the order to shoot down the Chinese balloon over the Atlantic Ocean in early February "as soon as it would be safe to do so."

"The military advised against shooting it down over land because of the sheer size of it," he said. "It was the size of multiple school buses and it posed a risk to people on the ground if it was shot down where people lived."

The Pentagon later revealed that the Chinese balloon is part of a broader global network that Beijing has operated for years, the scope of which extends across five continents and multiple regions.

Biden on Thursday also said he's directed his team to create "sharper rules" for dealing with unidentified objects moving forward, distinguishing between those that pose a security risk and those that don't. If any object poses a risk to Americans, he said, "I will take it down."

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will lead a government-wide effort to ensure the US is positioned to deal with objects in US airspace, establishing a better inventory of unmanned airborne objects, improving detection, and updating rules and regulations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also help establish "common global norms in this largely unregulated space," Biden said.

In total, four objects — one Chinese surveillance balloon and the three smaller objects that remain unidentified — have been shot down over North American airspace since early February. All four operations were carried out by US Air Force fighter jets using AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

An F-22 Raptor — a stealth fifth-generation aircraft — first shot down the Chinese balloon on February 4 as it was operating at over 60,000 feet off the coast of South Carolina. On February 10, an F-22 down an unidentified object hovering at 40,000 feet over Alaska. The next day, an F-22 took down another unidentified object over northern Canada.

Most recently, an F-16 on Sunday shot down an object flying at 20,000 feet — well below the average cruising altitude of many commercial airliners — over Lake Huron. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley revealed on Wednesday that the F-16 actually missed on its first try.

A top US Air Force general who oversees the commands that defend US and Canadian airspace recently offered an explanation for why there was a sudden increase in flying objects over North America. After the Chinese balloon was downed, NORAD tweaked its radars to be able to detect smaller and slower-moving objects, said Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command.