U.S. fighter jet shoots down "unidentified object" over Canadian airspace; 3rd object shot down this week
U.S. fighter jet shoots down "unidentified object" over Canadian airspace; 3rd object shot down this week
"I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace," tweeted Canadian leader Justin Trudeau. "@NORADCommand 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."
CANADA - Canada said that a U.S. fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Canadian airspace on Saturday.
And then, Saturday night, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had closed some airspace in Montana to support Defense Department activities. The airspace was later reopened, an FAA spokesman said. Havre, Montana is two hours from Malmstrom AFB, home to U.S. nuclear missile silos, Fox News reported.
Biden: Chinese spy balloon 'not a major breach' of security
President Joe Biden says the Chinese spy balloon was "not a major breach of security." The U.S. Navy is still trying to find all the parts of the balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast as the FBI pieces together the recovered wreckage in a lab at Quantico.
"I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace," tweeted Canadian leader Justin Trudeau. "@NORADCommand 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."
This happened the day after the U.S. military announced an "object" had been shot down off the coast of northern Alaska.
"I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America," Trudeau tweeted.
Chinese Spy Balloon: Video shows moment US downs balloon over Atlantic Ocean
The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.
A NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said both Canadian and U.S. warplanes operating as part of NORAD had been deployed.
The White House released a statement saying:
"Earlier today, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Trudeau on the unidentified, unmanned object in North American air space. The object was closely tracked and monitored by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) over the last 24 hours and the President has been continually briefed by his national security team since the object was detected. Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau authorized it to be taken down. President Biden authorized US fighter aircraft assigned to NORAD to conduct the operation and a US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in close coordination with Canadian authorities. The leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin. President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau commended NORAD’s and U.S. Northern Command’s strong and effective partnership and agreed to continue their close coordination to detect, track, and defend our airspace."
A suspected Chinese spy balloon spent nearly a week flying through Canada and U.S. airspace before it was shot down by U.S. warplanes off South Carolina last Sunday.