An American jet shot down “an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace” Saturday after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered it to be taken down.
Trudeau announced that a U.S. F-22 with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) “successfully fired at the object,” and it was taken down over the Yukon. Canadian aircraft was scrambled as well.
I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023
He added that he had been in contact with president Joe Biden and “Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object.”
Officials have not determined what the object was, the New York Times reported.
The alleged infringement on Canada’s airspace comes a day after NORAD shot down an unidentified object over territorial waters off Alaska’s coast and a week after U.S. forces shot down a Chinese Spy balloon that traversed the country for days.
“Recovery operations continue today near Deadhorse, Alaska,” NORAD said in a press release Saturday.
NORAD “and the Alaska National Guard, in close coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement, are conducting search and recovery activities,” the release read.
U.S. Northern Command Update on Recovery Operations, Feb. 11, 2023 pic.twitter.com/ImGmZSDNN9
— U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) February 11, 2023
On Friday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said, “The object was about the size of a small car so not similar in size or shape to the high altitude surveillance balloon that was taken down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.”
Recovery efforts off the coast of South Carolina for the spy balloon wreckage are still underway, NORAD noted.
