The United States military on Friday shot down a yet-to-be-identified high-altitude object that was flying around Alaska, New York Times reports. 

A White House spokesperson, John F. Kirby, disclosed that President Joe Biden ordered the downing of the object  “out of an abundance of caution.”

This comes barely a week after Washington shot down a Chinese weather surveillance balloon which found its way into the U.S. through Canada. 

Military chiefs could not identify whether the object shot down on Friday was a balloon but prompt action was required because it travelled at an altitude that posed fatal risks to civilian aircraft.

In contrast to last week, when some Republican senators attacked the president for letting the surveillance balloon linger over the United States for many days before destroying it, the Friday shootdown demonstrated Mr Biden acting directly and forcefully far more quickly. 

However, during the observation time last week, American officials were able to gather information about the spy balloon, whereas in the case on Friday, officials appeared unsure of precisely what they shot down.