Chase Doak Agence France-Presse National Defense Minister Anita Anand held a press conference on Saturday evening to provide an update . She did not reveal the nature of the object, limiting herself to saying that it was a “cylindrical object”.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Saturday that a flying object was shot down over the Yukon.
In a statement posted to Twitter, he said he “directed that either brought down an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace”. Canadian and American aircraft were deployed in the area. The object was eventually shot down by an American F-22.
I ordered the grounding of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. The @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Aircraft from Canada and the United States were dispatched to the scene, and fire from the U.S. F-22 hit the object.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023
Mr. Trudeau added that he had discussed it with US President Joe Biden in the afternoon. “The Canadian Forces will now repatriate and analyze the wreckage of the object,” he wrote.
National Defense Minister Anita Anand held a press conference on Saturday evening to take stock.
She did not reveal the nature of the object, merely saying that it was a “cylindrical object”. However, she said the object was shot down around 3:40 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday.
“The object flew at an altitude of 40,000 feet, illegally entered Canadian airspace and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” Minister Anand said in French.
She also mentioned that it was too early to comment on the capabilities of the object, but that the safety of the public would not be threatened. An in-depth investigation, in which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will also participate, will be opened.
In the United States, the Pentagon said the object was first detected over Alaska late Friday evening.
“Two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson, Alaska, surveyed the object over U.S. airspace with the help of Alaska Air National Guard tanker planes, following it closely and taking time to characterize the nature object,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement.
Mr. Ryder added that President Biden had authorized US military aircraft to work with their Canadian counterparts following a conversation with Mr. Trudeau.
“As Canadian authorities conduct recovery to help our countries learn more about the object, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will work closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police,” Mr. Ryder assured.
It will is the third flying object to violate North American airspace in the past two weeks.
A week ago, a Chinese spy balloon was shot down by US aircraft after violating US and Canadian airspace.
A US fighter jet shot down a second unknown object in the sky off the coast of Alaska, not far from the Canadian border, on Friday, confirmed by White House officials.
The two objects shot down Friday and Saturday di would be smaller in size than the Chinese balloon spotted earlier this month, authorities said.
