Three unidentified objects shot down by the US did not appear to have been used for spying and were likely tied to benign purposes, Joe Biden has said.
Instead, the objects were “most likely” linked to private companies or research institutions, the US president said.
Mr Biden said he made no apologies for protecting America’s skies, and said the US would improve capacity to detect unmanned objects in its airspace, amid an ongoing row with China over flying objects.
But he said: “We are not looking for new Cold War with China.”
Tensions have been mounting between the US and China after the US shot down a fourth unidentified object over North American airspace.
The White House had previously said China is running a “high-altitude balloon programme” for intelligence gathering.
Beijing has claimed the US has flown 10 objects over its airspace – which Washington denies.
Read more:
China claims US balloons flew over its airspace ‘more than 10 times over the past year’
US on heightened state of alert over flying objects
Spy balloons and flying objects: A timeline of what and where fighter jets have shot down
