Another Unidentified Flying Object in Canadian Airspace... US Military F-22 Fighter Jet Shoots It Down

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Another unidentified object was discovered over the North American continent and was shot down by a US military fighter jet.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Twitter on the 11th (local time), "I ordered the shooting down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) shot down the object in Yukon, northern Canada."

Trudeau reported that Canadian and US fighter jets chased the unidentified flying object, and a US F-22 fighter jet successfully completed the shootdown mission.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prior to Trudeau's announcement, NORAD issued a statement explaining that a high-altitude flying object was detected in northern Canada, and military fighter jets from both the US and Canada, departing from Alaska and Canada respectively, were supporting the operation.

This shootdown is similar to the type in which a US fighter jet detected and shot down a high-altitude object over the northeastern coast of Alaska the previous day.

Including the Chinese reconnaissance balloon that intruded into the US mainland and was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on the 4th, this marks the third similar incident within a week.

However, the exact nature of the unidentified object shot down in Yukon, Canada, has not yet been confirmed.

In a second tweet, Trudeau said, "I spoke with US President Joe Biden this afternoon," adding, "The Canadian military will now recover and analyze the debris of this object."

The unidentified high-altitude flying object shot down in Alaska a day earlier has not yet been recovered.

The US Northern Command, Alaska National Guard, FBI, and local law enforcement agencies are conducting a joint search operation around Dead Horse, Alaska, but progress is reportedly slow due to thawing ice, severe cold, and strong winds.

NORAD stated in a release that "the Arctic weather conditions, including cold winds, snow, and limited sunlight, are affecting the recovery operation," and added, "There is no further information to disclose regarding the origin, purpose, or capabilities of this object."

The United States has suggested that China’s military may be behind the reconnaissance balloons, which have been sent to more than 40 countries worldwide for intelligence gathering.

In this regard, the US Department of Commerce has added five companies and one research institute related to China’s reconnaissance balloon development to the export sanction list.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.