Airborne Object Shot Down Over Canada in Escalating Aerial Drama
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday ordered the downing of an unidentified flying object over Canada, the third such aerial incursion into North American airspace this month, sparking alarms across the continent.
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The high-altitude object was identified over Alaska late Friday night and was being monitored by US military aircraft as it crossed Canada, the Pentagon said. Canadian and US planes were scrambled, and a US F-22 fighter jet successfully shot it down over the Yukon, said Trudeau, who coordinated the response with US President Joe Biden. The object was brought down by an AIM 9X missile.
The drama began earlier this month when a balloon flew through North America, drawing global attention and sparking a diplomatic standoff between the US and China. The US said the balloon was deliberately sent by China for surveillance, while Beijing countered that it was a harmless weather monitoring device that had gone off course. The US military shot it down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4th.
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Less than a week later, Biden ordered mining of a smaller, unidentified object sighted about 40,000 feet above Alaska on Friday. On the same day, the third object was sighted at a similar altitude by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a joint US-Canadian military command responsible for aerospace and maritime warning.
“It appears to be a small, cylindrical object” – smaller than the first balloon – and “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flights,” said Anita Anand, Canada’s defense minister, of the youngest object.
It is unclear what the last two objects were or where they came from. No evidence has been released that the three episodes are connected. Anand declined to speculate on the origins of the latest object, saying it was too early, but broadly adding, “We need to keep our eyes peeled for China.”
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To uncover more details about the devices’ purpose and origin, Canadian forces will recover and analyze the debris from the newest object, while US crews work to recover the remains of the balloon and second object.
The incidents have thrown the spotlight on China’s alleged surveillance programs. The US claims the balloon was part of a years-long, military-led espionage program that spanned more than 40 countries, a claim Beijing has dismissed.
In a series of briefings and hearings with lawmakers Thursday, U.S. officials said the balloon was carrying equipment with sensors designed to pick up communications signals, noting that it hovered over sensitive U.S. military sites during its transit across the U.S. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday that the balloon was a civilian vehicle and its transit through the United States last week was an “isolated, unexpected incident.”
A US intelligence report released in January said coverage of unidentified aerial phenomena has increased as stigma surrounding claims of UFO sightings decreases and awareness of the threats such objects can pose increases.
Read more: Reports of UFO sightings to government increase as stigma lifted
– With support from Jenny Leonard.