On Friday afternoon, the U.S. military shot down an unmanned "high-altitude object" over Alaskan airspace and Arctic waters near the Canadian border. According to National Security Council official John Kirby, the object, which was flying at 40,000 feet, posed a reasonably threat to the safety of civilian flight, prompting President Biden to order the military to take it down.

Armed fighters assigned to the U.S. Northern Command were able to confirm that the object was unmanned prior to shooting it down. The Pentagon is expected to provide a briefing regarding the situation at 3 p.m. ET.

Right now, the United States is unsure as to who owns the object. Kirby stated: 'We're calling this an object because that's the best description we have right now. We do not know who owns it, whether it's