The North American region appeared to be on high alert recently with the shooting down of an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada. This marks the second shootdown of a flying object in as many days and comes after a week-long episode involving a Chinese spying balloon that captured the world's attention.
The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first to announce the shootdown, which occurred over the Yukon territory in northern Canada. He stated that Canadian forces would recover and analyze the wreckage. The Canadian Defence Minister, Anita Anand, declined to speculate about the origin of the object, only describing it as cylindrical in shape and smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down off South Carolina's coast a week ago. However, she did say that it was similar in appearance and was flying at 40,000 feet, posing a risk to civilian air traffic when it was shot down at 3:41 EST (2041 GMT).
"There is no reason to believe that the impact of the object in Canadian territory is of any public concern," said Anand during a news conference.
The Pentagon reported that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected the object over Alaska late on Friday evening. US fighter jets from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, monitored the object as it crossed over into Canadian airspace, where Canadian 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, with close coordination between U.S. and Canadian authorities.
The U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the U.S. military to work with Canada to take down the high-altitude craft after a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The White House stated that Biden and Trudeau agreed to continue close coordination to "defend our airspace." The leaders also discussed the importance of recovering the object to determine its purpose or origin.
A day earlier, Biden ordered another shootdown of an unidentified flying object near Deadhorse, Alaska. The U.S. military remains tight-lipped about what, if anything, it has learned from the recovery efforts underway on the Alaskan sea ice. The Pentagon offered only a few details, including that the object was the size of a small car, flying at about 40,000 feet, could not maneuver and appeared to be unmanned. 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," stated Northern Command. The difficult arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, can hinder search and recovery efforts.
On February 4th, a U.S. F-22 fighter jet brought down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina, following its week-long journey across the United States and portions of Canada. China's government claims that it was a civilian research vessel, but some U.S. lawmakers criticized Biden for not shooting down the balloon sooner. The U.S. military had recommended waiting until it was over the ocean, out of fear of injuries from falling debris.
U.S. personnel have been scouring the ocean to recover debris and the undercarriage of electronic gadgetry since the shootdown of the 200-foot-tall Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon. The Pentagon has stated that a significant amount of the balloon has already been recovered or located, suggesting that American officials may soon have more information about any Chinese espionage capabilities aboard the vessel.