President Joe Biden gave the order to shoot the object down this morning, according to John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications.

Biden was first briefed Thursday night “as soon as the Pentagon had enough information,” he added.

Kirby explained that the object did not appear to be self-maneuvering, making it “much less predictable,” which led to the president’s decision to take it down. 

There were two efforts to get closer to the object as it was in the air — one from fighter aircraft late last night and one from a flight earlier this morning, Kirby said, adding that both engagements yielded limited information. 

Kirby did not provide a timeline for recovering the downed object.