Trudeau: an American plane shot down an unknown object in Canada

OTTAWA (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that, acting on his orders, a U.S. fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” flying high over the Yukon, a day after planes Americans did something similar over Alaska.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint organization of the United States and Canada that shares the defense of the airspace of both nations, detected the very high-flying object in over Alaska Friday night, US officials said. It crossed Canadian airspace on Saturday.

Trudeau spoke with US President Joe Biden, who also ordered the destruction of the object. Canadian and American fighters operating within NORAD accelerated and an American fighter fired at the object.

F-22 fighters shot down three objects in US and Canadian airspace in seven days, a startling event that has raised questions about what is flying over the region and who is responsible.

At least one of the downed objects is believed to be a Chinese spy balloon, but the other two have not been publicly identified. Although Trudeau called the object “unidentified” on Saturday, a NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said the military had determined what it was but would not give details.

Trudeau said Canadian forces would recover the remains for study. The Yukon is Canada’s westernmost territory and one of the least populated regions in the country.

Just a day earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an object the size of a small car was destroyed over a remote area of ​​the ‘Alaska. Authorities have not said whether it was equipped with spy equipment, where it came from or what it was used for.

Kirby said he was shot down because he was flying at an altitude of about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a ‘reasonable threat’ to civilian flight safety, not because he was known to do espionage.

According to the US Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on the pack ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.

In a statement, Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was. He noted that search and recovery efforts were being conducted by Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, as well as the FBI and local police.

“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.”

Last Saturday, the United States shot down a huge white balloon off South Carolina.

The balloon was part of an extensive spy program that China has been running for “several years”, the Pentagon said.

The United States says Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries on five continents in recent years, and it has expanded its knowledge of the program after closely tracking the one shot down in waters near South Carolina. .

Beijing responded that it reserved the right to “take further action” and censured Washington for its “obvious overreaction and blatant violation of international practices”.

The Navy was continuing inspection and recovery activities on the ocean floor off South Carolina, with the Coast Guard providing security, he added. Additional wreckage was recovered from the waters on Friday and operations will continue as weather permits, Northern Command said.