The object that was shot down on Sunday should have been over Lake Huron in the northern United States on the border with Canada.
According to John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, the object was said to be the size of "a small car".
- The justification for shooting it down was both that it was at a height where commercial air traffic flies, but also that it is deemed to have been close to sensitive military installations in the USA, says SVT's USA correspondent Fouad Youcefi.
Sanctions
In total, four objects have been shot down in North American airspace recently.
The first shooting off the coast of the state of South Carolina on February 4th.
The object is suspected to be a Chinese spy balloon.
China confirmed that the object belongs to them but claims that the balloon was civilian with a mission to collect meteorological data.
On February 10, an unknown object was shot down in Alaska and a day later another unknown object was shot down in the Yukon in northern Canada.
The two objects should not have borne any direct resemblance to the previously suspected spy balloon, but were smaller, reports Reuters, citing a spokesperson in the White House.
Over the weekend, the United States imposed sanctions on five Chinese technology companies and a research institute believed to be linked to China's balloon program.
- It is quite clear that American authorities take this seriously, says Fouad Youcefi.
UFO reports are increasing
The events of the past week have caused Americans to turn their eyes to the skies, which means that reports of flying objects are increasing.
- I have seen claims of flying objects in Florida, Arizona and elsewhere.
Suddenly, the American authorities will probably have a lot to do on this front, says Fouad Youcefi.