Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said on Saturday that on his orders, a U.S. warplane shot down an “unidentified object” flying high over the Yukon, a day after the United States took similar action. same for Alaska.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint US-Canada organization that provides joint protection of the airspace over the two countries, said it detected an object flying at high altitude. large in northern Canada. It is not clear how high it flew or what it was.
Trudeau said he also spoke with the President Joe Bidenthe same person who ordered the shooting down of an unidentified object in the distant Alaskan sky on Friday.
“Earlier this morning, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Trudeau about an unidentified, unmanned object in North American airspace,” according to a statement from the White House. “This object has been closely monitored and monitored by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) over the past 24 hours, and the President has been continuously briefed by his national security team,” he said. since this object was discovered.”
The statement said both Biden and Trudeau authorized the shooting down “out of an abundance of caution and on the recommendation of their military”.
“A US F-22 shot down an object over Canadian territory with an AIM 9X missile following close coordination between the US and Canadian authorities, including today’s call between Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Secretary of Defense Anita Anand, according to Pentagon Press Secretary, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, said: “As Canadian authorities conduct recovery operations to help our nations find To learn more about the subject, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will work closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”
NORAD spokesman Major Olivier Gallant said the military had identified what the object was but did not disclose details.
F-22 fighter jets have now shot down three objects in the airspace above the United States and Canada in seven days, a startling development in the sky that raises the question of exactly what is missing. badgers and who sent them.
At least one of the downed objects is believed to be a spy balloon from China, but the other two have yet to be identified. Prime Minister Trudeau said that Canadian forces will salvage the wreckage for study. The Yukon where it was shot down is Canada’s westernmost territory and one of Canada’s least populated areas.
The downing came a day after White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an object roughly the size of a small car had been shot down in remote Alaska. Officials could not say whether it contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what its purpose was.
Kirby said it was shot down because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, not because it was engaged supervision.
According to US Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.
In a statement, Northern Command said there were no new details about the object. It said Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting a search and recovery.
“Arctic weather conditions, including cold winds, snow and limited daylight, were a factor in this operation and staff will adjust recovery operations to remain safe,” the statement said. father said.
Last Saturday, US officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
The Pentagon said the balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China had been conducting for “several years”. The United States says Chinese hot air balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring one that was shot down near South Korea. Carolina.
China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the US as “a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice”.
The Navy continues to survey and recover the ocean floor off the coast of South Carolina, and the Coast Guard is providing security. Additional debris was pulled out on Friday and operations will resume weather permitting, Northern Command said.
—CNBC contributed to this report.
