An F-22 fighter jet of the U.S. Air Force shot down an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada on Saturday. This is the third incident involving a high-altitude object shot down by the U.S. military in just a week.
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The U.S. fighter jets were also scrambled to investigate a radar anomaly in Montana that led to a brief closure of the federal airspace.
“Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate the radar hits,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) wrote in a statement.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister said that the object that was shot down over the Yukon territory would be recovered and analyzed by the country’s services.
Update: PM Trudeau confirms he ordered the take down of unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. Says NORAD 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. https://t.co/Qg9lNNEErd
— CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) February 11, 2023
U.S. northern neighbor’s Defence Minister Anita Anand did not comment on the object’s origin. However, she confirmed it was cylindrical in shape.
Canada’s Defence Minister said the object was smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down over the South Carolina coast last week, but it was of a similar appearance.
Canadian Defense Minister…
What do y'all think the "cylindrical object" is?#canada #NORAD #NOTAM #Montana #Yukon pic.twitter.com/h9LKOH1LzO
— Mrgunsngear (@Mrgunsngear) February 12, 2023
At an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,200 m), the object was a potential danger for air traffic and was shot down at 3:41 EST (2041 GMT), Minister Anand said.
“There is no reason to believe that the impact of the object in Canadian territory is of any public concern,” Anand said during a press conference.
Shootdown geography time. Object was over Yukon. US has F-22 jets based in Anchorage. Canada has CF-18's in Cold Lake, Alberta (red pin). @NORADCommand scrambled both aircraft types, ordering first there to take action. pic.twitter.com/W5Kp12lGVV
— David Common (@davidcommon) February 11, 2023
U.S. fighter jets stationed at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska tracked the object entering Canadian airspace. After it crossed into Canada, the country’s CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joined the formation.
“A U.S. F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory, using an AIM 9X missile following close coordination between U.S. and Canadian authorities,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder stated.
U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the U.S. military to cooperate with Canada to take down the object after a conversation with the country’s Prime Minister Trudeau, the Pentagon said.
The White House stated that both parties agreed to keep close coordination to “defend our airspace.”
“The leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin,” the White House added.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday night temporarily closed airspace in Montana to support U.S. military operations, the agency said in a brief statement that came just hours after American fighter jets shot down a cylindrical UFO in the… https://t.co/DXXkEKwdat
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) February 12, 2023
U.S. officials have been trying to learn about the object since it was first spotted on Thursday.
“We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin,” the U.S. Northern Command commented on Saturday.
Difficult weather conditions, including wind and snow, may hamper the search and recovery operation.
“Personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety,” the U.S. Northern Command said.
On February 4, a U.S. fighter jet destroyed what the country’s government called a “Chinese surveillance balloon” over South Carolina’s coast. The object was traveling across the United States and Canada for almost a week. President Biden faced criticism for acting too slowly.
China responded that the object was a civilian research vessel.
Another “high-altitude object” that was the size of a small car was shot down by a U.S. jet fighter on February 10 over Alaska, at the order of President Joe Biden.