- Thomas Mackintosh
- BBC News
image sources, Getty Images
Canada said an Armed Forces F-22. Americans like this – seen in a file photo – shot down the object.
Another unidentified aircraft. This time in Canada.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed that another unidentified object was shot down over North American airspace.
Trudeau explained that he “violated Canadian airspace” and was shot down over the Yukonin northwestern Canada.
Canadian and American planes rushed to find object, Trudeau says he was shocked by an American F-22.
Trudeau says he gave the order and discussed it with his American counterpart, Joe Biden.
“The Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the remains of the object,” he wrote on Twitter.
A common task
The Canadian prime minister also thanked the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which earlier said it was monitoring “a high-altitude airborne object” flying over northern Canada. NORAD provides air defense for the United States and Canada.
The White House said the object had been tracked and monitored “over the past 24 hours.”
“Out of an abundance of caution and on the recommendation of their military, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau have authorized its dismantling,” he said in a statement.
“Leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object to determine further details of its purpose or origin.”
The US Department of Defense, for its part, confirmed that two F-22 aircraft took off from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, and the object was shot down with an AIM 9X missile.
Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said that while recovery operations will be conducted by Canadian authorities, the FBI will “work closely” with Canadian police.
It’s unclear what the purpose is, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schummer said Sunday it would be It was another balloon, although he didn’t say if it was from China.
Its appearance over North America comes just days after two American balloons linked to Beijing were also shot down.
Two more balloons last month
On Friday, another object was shot down over Alaska on the orders of US President Biden.
In a brief statement, the military said U.S. troops, including the Alaska National Guard, were still conducting search and recovery activities for Friday’s object in the pack ice.
He said he had no further details on the object’s capabilities, purpose or origin, but confirmed that the FBI is assisting in the recovery near the Alaskan town of Deadhorse.
“Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety,” he added, and the rescue operation will continue as long as weather permits.
The latest incident comes a week after the US military destroyed a Chinese balloon off South Carolina.
China has denied the balloon, which first entered US airspace on January 28, was used for espionage, saying it was a lost weather device.
However, the United States has declared that the globe it is part of a fleet of surveillance balloons that has flown over five continents.
The balloon incident has strained relations between the United States and China, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceling a planned trip to Beijing.
On Friday, Chinese officials accused the United States of “political manipulation and exaggeration”.
In an interview on Thursday, President Biden defended his handling of the Chinese globe, saying it was not “a major breach”.
image sources, Getty Images
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