Washington, D.C.— Representative Peltola issued the following statement Friday regarding the shooting down of an unidentified object over Alaska:  

“My office was briefed by the Department of Defense regarding the unidentified object over Alaska this morning, February 10. I commend our military for their swift and skillful operation to track, study, and eliminate this object after confirming that it was a potential threat operating in civilian airspace.

This incident reinforces Alaska’s strategic importance and the necessity of investing in our Arctic defenses. Our incredible pilots at Elmendorf and Eielson AFBs are vital links in the protection of Alaska and the United States, and they proved that today.

I join my fellow delegation members in expecting answers from our military leaders for how unidentified objects have been able to infiltrate our airspace in recent weeks. We need to be aware of any other such objects over Alaska. The Defense Department must thoroughly investigate and close this gap in our domain awareness. Continued violations of sovereign American airspace cannot be allowed.”

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