US Jet Shoots Down ‘Unidentified Object’ Over Northern Canada An unprecedented event took place in North American airspace, as on Saturday, ...

US Jet Shoots Down ‘Unidentified Object’ Over Northern Canada

An unprecedented event took place in North American airspace, as on Saturday, an "unidentified object" was shot down by a US fighter jet, in accordance with orders given by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden. The Canadian Defense Minister, Anita Anand, confirmed that the object was "cylindrical" in shape and smaller in size than the suspected Chinese balloon that was shot down the previous weekend. The White House confirmed that both leaders authorized the shoot-down, with the Pentagon stating that the object was first observed over Alaska on Friday evening.

It remains unclear what the object shot down over Canada actually is or whether it has any relation to the suspected spy balloon or the unidentified object shot down over Alaska on Friday. The Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police during the recovery operation, which will be led by Canadian forces. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Anita Anand reassured that both countries would always defend their sovereignty together.

The shoot-down of the object marks the third time in one week that US aircraft have taken down an object in North American airspace. The previous incidents include the downing of another unidentified object over Alaska and the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4, which was brought down by a US F-22 fighter jet.

The airspace over Montana was briefly closed on Saturday evening, but it was quickly reopened. NORAD reported that they detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate, but no object was identified. On Friday, a "high-altitude object" was shot down over Alaska after being determined to pose a threat to civilian air traffic, with the operation being referred to as a "success" by Biden.

The Biden administration has faced a series of questions this week regarding the decision to shoot down the spy balloon, which was spotted after entering the US Air Defense Identification Zone over Alaska on January 28. Despite officials stating that the risk of intelligence collection against the US was low, the risk to people and property on the ground was high if the balloon were to be shot down, leading to the decision to shoot it down over water after it crossed over the East Coast of the US.