US blacklists Chinese companies over spy balloon program

The mysterious “object” shot down over Alaska managed to penetrate American airspace without being detected, a senior US official said Saturday — while President Biden’s administration continued its silence regarding the intruder’s appearance, capabilities, and even its ownership.

The unnamed official told Fox News the object was spotted by the US military while it was “over Alaska not far from the northern coast” on Thursday night, but had previously gone unnoticed.

“We have no further updates at this time,” a Department of Defense spokesperson told The Post when asked for more information about the car-sized object that breached US airspace and was shot down over frozen Alaskan waters on Friday.

The incident came nearly a week after the US military shot down a massive Chinese spy balloon that had made an embarrassing high-altitude journey over the entire North American continent, from Alaska to South Carolina, before it was finally shot down on Feb. 4.

On Friday, the second object — this one “the size of a small car” — was destroyed by the US military at an altitude of 40,000 feet, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby

But officials have refused to describe the latest intruder, saying only that it was “not similar in size or shape” to the much larger spy balloon.

“We don’t know who owns it – whether it’s state-owned or corporate-owned or privately-owned, we just don’t know,” Kirby told reporters Friday.

The administration’s ignorance drew ridicule Saturday from former President Trump’s acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller.

“We don’t know if it’s a Chinese balloon or just some kid,” an incredulous Miller told Fox News. “If you’re a writer for Saturday Night Live, you’ve got all the material you need for the next three weeks.”

“We have to send up a $100 million aircraft to shoot down a balloon with a $400,000 missile?” Miller asked. “The cost curve’s all off on that one … holy cow.”

Republicans have hammered Biden for his foot-dragging response to the Chinese spy balloon’s week-long journey — saying that his “vastly changed” response to Friday’s airspace intrusion was evidence that it had been mishandled.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration slapped sanctions on six Chinese companies to retaliate for the spy balloon’s intrusion late Friday.

The Commerce Department blacklisted five aerospace corporations and one research institute, accusing them of supporting Beijing’s “military modernization efforts, specifically those related to aerospace programs, including airships and balloons” used for “intelligence and reconnaissance.”

The move will block the targeted entities from buying American technical materials.

“The Commerce Department will not hesitate to continue to use … regulatory and enforcement tools to protect U.S. national security and sovereignty,” Deputy Secretary Don Graves tweeted.