A US jet shot down an unknown object over northern Canada on Tuesday morning, the military announced.
Officials said there were no casualties from the incident and that they are currently investigating what caused it.
In an interview with international media Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that he had ordered a US fighter jet to shoot down an unidentified object over Canadian airspace.
I ordered the shooting down of an unidentified flying object that violated Canadian airspace. NORAD Command successfully shot it down over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S F-22 successfully fired at it,” said Trudeau on Twitter.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Saturday evening that the object spotted in footage of a Chinese balloon shot down last weekend was “cylindrical” and smaller than the suspected balloon.
On Saturday, the White House confirmed that Trudeau and US President Joe Biden authorized the shoot-down of a suspicious object over Alaska on Friday evening. The Pentagon said that the object was first spotted over Alaska on Friday evening, and it is currently unknown what caused it to fly into airspace near Canada.
After speaking with Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday, Trudeau said that Canadian forces will lead the object recovery operation.
The recent shooting down of a US object in North American airspace has raised concern among some members of the public. Three incidents in one week is an alarming trend, and it’s important to keep track of these events so we can determine if there is something wrong with our air defense systems. Saturday’s incident followed the downing of another unidentified object on Friday over Alaska; this was only the second time a US aircraft had shot down an airborne target within North America in under two years. The shoot-down of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4 by a F-22 fighter jet further illustrated how critical it is for us to maintain vigilance against potential threats from overseas.
It is not clear what object was shot down over Canada last week or whether it is related to the spy balloon shot down last week.
Both Biden and Trudeau authorized the taking down of the object, a White House readout said on Saturday.
A statement from Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Saturday the object was first observed by two F-22 fighter jets over Alaska on Friday evening. The aircraft tracked it closely and took time to characterize its nature, according to Ryder’s statement.
“A U.S. F-22 fighter jet shot down the object in Canadian territory using an AIM 9X missile,” according to his statement.
As the Canadian authorities work to learn more about the object, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Anand tweeted Saturday that she had discussed the incident with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and reaffirmed their commitment to stand together against any outside threats to their sovereignty.
The object was observed flying at an altitude of approximately 40,000 feet and had unlawfully entered Canadian airspace. According to Anand, the object posed a significant threat to civilian aviation and was shot down about 100 miles from the Canada-United States border over Canadian territory in central Yukon.
NAADC issued a statement earlier today reporting that it is monitoring an unidentified high altitude airborne object over northern Canada. Military aircraft from Alaska and Canada are reportedly operating in the area.
Global news reported on the detection of an object by NORAD earlier this Saturday.