US officials admit objects shot down from sky may not have been for spying
The last three flying objects shot down by the US military were not spy balloons - but it's not clear what they were, as Dan Rivers reports
The White House has said there is no indication that the flying objects downed by the US military this week were used in the same manner as the Chinese spy balloon found earlier this month.
The three objects, including one shot down on Sunday over Lake Huron, were unmanned and travelling at such a low altitude as to pose a risk to civilian commercial air traffic, said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
Though President Joe Biden's administration does not yet have evidence that they were equipped for spying purposes, officials have not ruled that out either, Mr Kirby added.
The US believe that due to the remote locations that the balloons were found in, it is unlikely that they are part of a Chinese spy balloon program.
Speaking to ITV News' Dan Rivers, Senator Mitt Romney said: "There are a lot of things to worry about, but this is not very high on my worry chart.
"People are interested and curious about what we know. And the reality is we don't know alot about what these items are yet."
ITV News' US Correspondent Dan Rivers spoke separately to a number of senators after a classified briefing who said the balloons were 'not very high of their worry chart'
Senator Lindsey Graham added: "I'm not unnerved, I think we are coming up with a more sustainable policy. The more things you see, the more decisions you make and the more open and transparent we can be."
The FBI is continuing to investigate the remains that they have uncovered of that first Chinese spy balloon.
The incursion has lumped pressure onto President Biden to speak to the American public about what the other three shot down objects are.
The weeks-long succession of objects, starting with a giant white orb first detected over US skies in late January, has puzzled American officials and stirred curiosity around the world.
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Though the three most recent objects differed in size, manoeuvrability and other characteristics from the surveillance balloon shot down February 4 off the Carolina coast, officials moved to eliminate each one from the sky - actions that Pentagon officials believe have no peacetime precedent.
One possibility that the US has been able to rule out is any connection to extra-terrestrial activity, the White House said on Monday, dispelling light-hearted public speculation about aliens and outer space.
“I know there have been questions and concerns about this, but there is no - again, no - indication of aliens or extra-terrestrial activity with these recent takedowns,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the outset of a press briefing.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday that the government would do “whatever it takes” to protect the country, as the UK announced a security review.