These are very, very slow object in the space, if you will, going at the speed of the wind essentially.

[...]

So as Assistant Secretary Dalton talked about, radars essentially filter out information based on speed. So you can set various gates. We call them velocity gates that allow us to filter out low-speed clutter. So if you have radars on all the time that we're looking at anything from zero speed up to, say, 100, you would see a lot more information.

We have adjusted some of those gates to give us better fidelity on seeing smaller objects. You can also filter out by altitude. And so, with some adjustments, we've been able to get a better a categorization of radar tracks now. And that's why I think you're seeing these overall. Plus, there's a heightened alert to look for this information. I hope that adds additional clarification.

[...]

GEN. VANHERCK: Yeah. So I'm not going to categorize these balloons. We call them objects for a reason. Certainly, the event of South Carolina coast for the Chinese spy balloon, that was clearly a balloon.

These are objects. I am not able to categorize how they stay aloft. It could be a gaseous type of balloon inside a structure or it could be some type of a propulsion system. But clearly, they're — they're able to stay aloft.

[...]

Q: Hi, thanks. A missile seems like a particularly destructive weapon to be using if there is a desire to investigate and figure out what these are afterwards. Can you explain why — explain the weapon's choice.

GEN. VANHERCK: Absolutely. Melissa, if you don't mind, I'll take this one. So, first of all, maintaining a radar track on an object this small is very hard. So taking a radar shot such as AIM-120 would be a lower probability of success. We assessed taking a gunshot yesterday in that event, as well as today. And the pilots in each situation felt that that was really unachievable because of the size, especially yesterday in the altitude, and also because of a — the challenge to acquire it visually because it's so small.

It's also potentially a safety of flight issue because you have to get so close to the object before you see it that you potentially could fly into the debris or the actual object. Therefore, in each situation, the AIM-9X, a heat seeking missile or infrared missile that sees contrast, has been the — the weapons of choice against the — the objects was — we've been seeing.

Q: Back to the discussion on the AIM-9X, can you talk about what about these objects gave off enough heat signature for the I.R. seeker without any sort of propulsion system? And secondly, the F-16 presumably has a targeting pod. I assume you had eyes off from other aircraft. Will the Pentagon be releasing any of these images?

GEN. VANHERCK: I'll let policy decide on — on the images. That's not mine. But the — the AIM-9X, first, I would make an assumption, there wasn't a propulsion system or there was. What I would say is what you have is a — a contrast between the — the, you know, the — the environment and the objects them self, which gives often I.R. contrast, which allows the missile to track. And that's been very, very effective for the AIM-9X.

Melissa, over to you on the releasing — releasing of photos.

MS. DALTON: Thank you. We — we absolutely want to be transparent about our military operations and what we are learning about these objects and the PRC high-altitude balloon and hope to share more in the coming days.

Q: Thank you. I wanted to see when we talk about investigating or investigating the debris of this, who's taking the lead on that? Is that the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office?

GEN. VANHERCK: Thanks. All right. So as far as the recovering, the — technically the FBI has the lead under counterintelligence authorities. They are embedded with DOD because we have the resources to enable them to conduct the operations.