The Biden administration confirmed it shot down a “high-altitude object” over Alaska on Friday afternoon.

Officials did not say what the object was, and they would not confirm if it was a second Chinese spy balloon nearly one week after shooting down a craft over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Carolinas.

WHITE HOUSE WON'T COMMIT TO SHOOTING DOWN FUTURE CHINESE SPY BALLOONS

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby additionally briefed reporters Friday on the operation, which took less than an hour prior to his appearance in the White House press briefing room.

"I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours," Kirby told reporters. "The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. Out of an abundance of caution at the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object, and they did it when it came in inside our territorial waters."

He added that President Joe Biden was first made aware of the object's location overnight, and he ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down as soon as it passed over U.S. territorial waters. The waters are presently frozen, and Kirby said military personnel are conducting a salvage operation.

Pressed on why the Biden administration shot this potential spy balloon down before it reached the contiguous United States, Kirby noted that the size was significantly smaller than the balloon downed this past weekend and had "no significant payload."

Though the object is suspected to also be surveillance equipment, Kirby could not say for sure that it belongs to China.

"I have no idea," he stated flatly. "We don't know what entity owns this object. We just don't know."

Kirby did say that the U.S. is actively working to improve its detection protocols to begin tracking similar high-altitude objects well before they enter U.S. airspace.

Biden did not specifically address the Chinese spy balloon downed over the weekend in his State of the Union address, but he vowed to defend against any incursions of American territory.

"Make no mistake about it, as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country," he stated.

An official told the New York Times the object entered the airspace above Alaska on Thursday night. The official said the situation was "fast-moving."

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You can watch Kirby's remarks in full below.

This story is breaking and will be updated.