Paula Newton
CNNSat, 11 Feb 2023 17:29 UTC
© South Korean Defence Ministry/AFP/Getty ImagesCanada said a US F-22 was used to shoot down the object.
Canadian Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau said Saturday that an "unidentified object" had been shot down over Canadian airspace on his orders.
"I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," Trudeau
said on Twitter.
Trudeau said that he spoke with US
President Joe Biden on Saturday and that
Canadian forces will lead the object recovery operation.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
The
North American Aerospace Defense Command said earlier Saturday it was monitoring "a high altitude airborne object" over northern Canada, and military aircraft were operating in the area from Alaska and Canada, according to a news release from the agency.
It is not clear what the object is or whether it is related to the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down last week or
another object shot down over Alaska on Friday.
Global News
reported on NORAD's detection of the object earlier Saturday.
On Friday, the US military shot down a "high-altitude object" over Alaska after US officials determined that it posed a "reasonable threat to civilian air traffic" as it was flying at 40,000 feet. The object was brought down by fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command, and Biden referred to the operation as a "success." Recovery teams are now attempting to retrieve the debris that is sitting on top of ice in US territorial waters.
While officials have given no indication so far that the object shot down over Alaska is at all related to the Chinese spy balloon, details have been scarce.
A week earlier, US military fighter jets shot down the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, ending a remarkable public drama that prompted a diplomatic fallout between Washington and Beijing as the American public tracked the balloon from Montana all the way to the Carolinas.
The Biden administration has been subjected to a slew of questions this week about the timing of the president's decision to shoot the spy balloon.
Comment: As noted above, this follows the US shoot down of a Chinese weather balloon, but, more significantly, just yesterday US jets also
shot down an as of yet unidentified 'high altitude' object off the coast of Alaska. In a White House press conference that object was described as follows: "It did not appear to have maneuverability capability [...] It was virtually at the whim of the wind." So, just what is going on? Whatever it is, there certainly is the flavor of a coordinated and contrived campaign by the governments involved.
CNN recently provided more details on the Alaska incident:
UPDATE: 12th February 2023 @ 12:30 CETA fourth similar 'incident' of an 'object being tracked' was being reported above Montana. NORAD have since called off the air space ban:
UPDATE @ 13:15According to Global Times - 'China's national English language newspaper, under the People's Daily. ' - which tweeted 31 minutes ago, China's maritime authorities have spotted an 'unidentified flying object' and are 'preparing to shoot it down':
See also:
Russia strikes key Odessa bridge with first use of drone boat
Comment: As noted above, this follows the US shoot down of a Chinese weather balloon, but, more significantly, just yesterday US jets also shot down an as of yet unidentified 'high altitude' object off the coast of Alaska. In a White House press conference that object was described as follows: "It did not appear to have maneuverability capability [...] It was virtually at the whim of the wind." So, just what is going on? Whatever it is, there certainly is the flavor of a coordinated and contrived campaign by the governments involved.
CNN recently provided more details on the Alaska incident:
UPDATE: 12th February 2023 @ 12:30 CET
A fourth similar 'incident' of an 'object being tracked' was being reported above Montana. NORAD have since called off the air space ban:
UPDATE @ 13:15
According to Global Times - 'China's national English language newspaper, under the People's Daily. ' - which tweeted 31 minutes ago, China's maritime authorities have spotted an 'unidentified flying object' and are 'preparing to shoot it down':
See also: Russia strikes key Odessa bridge with first use of drone boat