U.S. says latest downed objects could well be ‘benign’

It’s unclear how much control China retained over the balloon once it veered from its original trajectory

The three still-unidentified aerial objects shot down by the U.S. in the past week likely had merely a "benign purpose,” the White House acknowledged Tuesday, drawing a distinction between them and the massive Chinese balloon that earlier traversed the U.S. with a suspected goal of surveillance.

“The intelligence community is considering as a leading explanation that these could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.

Also Read | Beijing tells U.S. to investigate balloons allegedly flown over China

Officials also disclosed that a missile fired at one of the three objects, over Lake Huron on Sunday, missed its intended target and landed in the water before a second one successfully hit.

The new details came as the Mr. Biden’s administration’s actions over the past two weeks faced fresh scrutiny in Congress.

First, U.S. fighter jets didn't shoot down what officials described as a Chinese spy balloon until after had crossed much of the United States, citing safety concerns. Then the military deployed F-22 fighters with heat-seeking missiles to quickly shoot down what likely were harmless objects.

Taken together, the actions raised political as well as security questions, about whether the Biden administration overreacted after facing Republican criticism for reacting too slowly to the big balloon.