Another flying object has been shot down over North America. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Saturday evening that the unknown object had been shot down by Canadian and US jets over the north of his country. “I ordered the downing of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace,” Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter on Saturday. Canadian and US aircraft were deployed after the high-altitude object was spotted over the Yukon Territory. The remains would now be recovered and examined. He has already spoken to US President Joe Biden about the incident.
Earlier on Saturday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said it had identified a new high-flying object over northern Canada. Military aircraft from Alaska and Canada are in use. The organization includes both US and Canadian military officials and is designed to protect the airspace over North America.
The US is on heightened alert after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down on February 4. Another object was shot down over Alaska on Friday. The US said it was the size of a small car, flew at an altitude of about twelve kilometers and was unmanned and unmaneuverable. Further details about the object, “including its capabilities, its purpose or its origin” are unknown. The salvage work continued, but would be complicated by the “arctic weather conditions”. These included freezing wind, snow and limited daylight. The salvage of the debris takes place on the sea ice.
An F-22 fighter jet shot down the object on Friday. The main reason for this approach is that there could have been a risk to civil air traffic at this altitude. According to the US government, the flying object was first sighted on Thursday evening (local time). US President Biden was informed immediately and gave the firing order on Friday morning.
The incident was reminiscent of the Chinese balloon allegedly used for espionage purposes, which the US Air Force had brought down from the sky a week ago. It was initially unclear whether there was a connection between the two cases.