The three high-flying objects which were shot down over the American and Canadian airspace this month were not related to the Chinese spy balloon programme, but most likely tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions, according to US President Joe Biden.
Biden said this in his speech at the White House on Thursday, his first one after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. Three other high-flying objects were shot down by American fighter jets - two in the US and one in Canada.
"We don't yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to China's spy balloon programme or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country," he said.
"The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research," Biden said.