Trudeau: US fighter shot down object over northern Canada | AP News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an "unidentified object" that was flying high over the Yukon, acting a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.
North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.
Trudeau spoke with President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and U.S. jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a U.S. jet that shot down the object.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told a news conference in Ottawa that the object, flying at around 40,000 feet, had been shot down at 3:41 p.m. EST, approximately 100 miles from the Canada-U.S. border in the central Yukon. A recovery operation was underway involving the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP.
Hours later, in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday night it had closed some airspace in Montana to support Defense Department activities. NORAD later said the closure, which lasted a little more than an hour, came after it had detected "a radar anomaly" and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. The aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits, NORAD said.
F-22 fighter jets have now taken out three objects in the airspace above the U.S. and Canada over seven days, a stunning development that is raising questions on just what, exactly, is hovering overhead and who has sent them.
At least one of the objects downed was believed to be a spy balloon from China, but the other two had not yet been publicly identified.
While Trudeau described the object Saturday as "unidentified," Anand said it appeared to be "a small cylindrical object, smaller than the one that was downed off the coast of North Carolina." A NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said the military had determined what it was but would not reveal details.
Anand refused to speculate whether the object shot down over Canada came from China.
"We are continuing to do the analysis on the object and we will make sure that analysis is thorough," she said. "It would not be prudent for me to speculate on the origins of the object at this time."
Anand said to her knowledge this was the first time NORAD had downed an object in Canadian airspace.
"The importance of this moment should not be underestimated," she said. "We detected this object together and we defeated this object together."
She was asked why a U.S. jet, and not a Canadian plane, shot the object down.
"As opposed to separating it out by country, I think what the important point is, these were NORAD capabilities, this was a NORAD mission and this was NORAD doing what it is supposed to do," she said.
Anand didn't use the word "balloon" to describe the object. But later, Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defense staff, said the instructions given to the planes was "who ever had the first, best shot to take out the balloon had the go-ahead."
Trudeau said Canadian forces would recover the wreckage for study. The Yukon is westernmost Canadian territory and the among the least populated part of Canada.
After the airspace closure over Montana, multiple members of Congress, including Montana Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester, said they were in touch with defense officials. Daines tweeted that he would "continue to demand answers on these invasions of US airspace."
Just about a day earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said an object roughly the size of a small car was shot out of the skies above remote Alaska. Officials couldn't say if it contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.
Kirby said it was shot down because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a "reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance.
According to U.S. Northern Command, recovery operations continued Saturday on sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska.
In a statement, the Northern Command said there were no new details on what the object was. It said the Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, along with the FBI and local law enforcement, were conducting search and recovery.
"Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety," the statement said.
On Feb. 4, U.S. officials shot down a large white balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for "several years," the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.
China responded that it reserved the right to "take further actions" and criticized the U.S. for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."
The Navy continued survey and recovery activities on the ocean floor off South Carolina, and the Coast Guard was providing security. Additional debris was pulled out Friday, and additional operations will continue as weather permits, Northern Command said.
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Nice that they shot down the second and third "unidentified objects" but I'd really like to know when and if they are going to tell the public just what they shot down. This we don't know what they were just does not cut it.
They said it was the size of a small car. Maybe it was this one:
It's all fun and games, huh?
I guess China is trying show us it's more than a rival, perhaps approaching the status of being our enemy?
Maybe it was Elon Musk's
I can make assumptions as well as you. Maybe the ones they are NOT identifying are American or from an American ally.
I posted elsewhere that it said "Happy New Year".
That made me think of the part in the movie Ben Hur, where Massala (Stephen Boyd) is dying after the race won by Judah (Charlton Heston) and Judah is with him and they have this dialogue:
IMO China does not consider the USA to be an enemy, and it's government has never said such a thing because if anything why would it consider one of its best customers its enemy.? However America HAS to create an enemy in order to keep its essential military industrial complex busy for the sake of its economy and individual government officials from the POTUS on down must declare China to be its enemy in order to gain personal political points and deflect the public from focussing on America's problems (and there are many).
whats the old saying?
art imitates life ? or life imitates art ?
can say i have made that connection a lot lately .
Over the years here I have pointed out a number of situations where life imitates art, which of course is the reverse of the usual adage of art imitating life. Since, as you know, I have a love of the movies, and that is where I have recognized the life imitations of the fictional ones. .
Pretty sure that intel is over yours and my pay grade.
Could be.
Ahhhh.....The story is coming out.
China needs to talk to their "weather research" companies and tell them that if they send their balloons here they're gonna have to buy a new one.
I don't think they are worried about it. They seem to have plenty to spare; and whatever information they seem to be getting must be worth it.
Are you one of those far right wingers who hates America?
Biden, the CIA, the NSA and American pilots did their job.
Folks here are overreacting. This is the PLA modernizing the old message in a bottle in the ocean. Now the bottle is bigger and more than ink on paper and the ocean is the atmosphere. It was wishing us a happy Lantern Festival and carried glutinous rice balls.
How could the military have missed the balloons for so long?
\More than likely, similar to Biden's classified information hoard, Biden knew about it days before it was detected in Montana and simply decided to keep it from the American people, possibly putting many of them at risk.
Around the world there are well over 900 balloons released twice a day many of which are the size of the latest shot down over Canada. This has been going on for years and all of a sudden 'their balloons bad', 'our balloons good'. I'm sure the Chinese who have been spied upon incessantly are chortling over how receptive to the muddle of fear westerners have become. If one thinks organizations like 5 Eyes are playing by Marquis of Queensbury Rules, one is living in a fabricated the-sky-is-falling fantasy.
Let's see if some Super Bowl frenzied fanatic shoots down the balloon that will surely fly over State Farm Stadium ... it's Chicken Little time!
What was Joe thinking?
It seems to be an instinctive reaction with Joe.
An odd thought just returned. It was during the 1980 election and pollution had become a campaign issue and Ronald Reagan said something like: "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do. Within a few days news cameras filmed a young boy by the side of the road with a sign that said "Chop a Redwood and save a life."
They are out there...for sure!
I have no idea, Americans live in a different nightmare world.
Joe is corrupting Justin.
Justin didn't need any help. Your quips back in the day of NV were funnier, what happened?
I guess that I got stale.
Rona ld Reagan’s much maligned assertion in 1981 that: “Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do,” may have more truth to it than most folks imagined. Researchers at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies have discovered that trees right here in Connecticut that are diseased by fungi can emit high concentrations of methane – a greenhouse gas that plays a role in climate change.
Yes, at least to Hallux.
I note while living in the US that american whitebread does not go stale and months later left on the counter is as fresh as the daytime twilight zone it was bought, eat some.
The same here. It's either a French loaf, Scali bread or Wheat bread for the breakfast meal.
Are you from the Boston area?
You bet!
Having grown in the Southwest I grew up eating more tortillas than bread. My maternal grandmother who raised me would make extra large ones about 14 or so inches across. great for beans, chorizo, carne asada, or anything else you could think of to put in it. They were also great breakfast burritos with eggs, chopped green chile, bacon, and cheese before the Anlgos even knew what they were. I had a great Nana!
I love homemade corn tortillas.
Huh?
Good home made tortillas, whether corn or flour, are almost an art form in and of itself that usually takes years to master. My grandmother learned as a little girl and was still making them into her 80's until she died.
I'll bet that you grew up eating some great tamales. My favorite fillings are salsa verde chicken, red chili pork and roasted poblano-cheese. Mine have gotten better since i started using Maseca Masa Mix and especially lard instead of the butter that I originally used.
I have always preferred the ones with shredded beef, diced green chili, and black olives. My all time favorite as a kid was the sweet tamales with just the masa with cinnamon and raisins.
Huh?
A Chinese festival favorite dish.
Glutinous rice balls are known in China as tangyuan, one of my favourite things to eat here, but normally only served during certain festivals.
Wow, Trudeau can order the US military? This wasn't a request to the Brandon administration for assistance.
Everyone in the US can sleep well at night knowing that Canada separates China and Russia from the US. Besides countless miles of empty land; they have a military that literally can be drowned in a bath tub. Instead of insisting on expanded bases in the Philippines and Japan; we should be putting several in along the Canadian Pacific Coast. Just in case our NORAD/NATO allies can't figure out where they stashed their working military vehicles.
Yes, we defend Canada as well, but don't tell anyone.
we should be putting several in along the Canadian Pacific Coast.
Agreed. And if we ever really want to PO the CCP we should install a few ICBM's in Japan.
The 'I' stands for Intercontinental, what would you aim them at ... Canada? That asked, what do you think The USN ships based at Yokosuka are carrying, peashooters?
Where does Trudeau live?
[Deleted]
You asking questions like that reminds me of the dizzy old lady from my home town who constantly asks people on Facebook for the phone numbers of the city office, post office and The Sonic Drive In!
Google is your friend. You can look up the answers to commonly known facts now!
The Canadian Prime Ministers resididence is at #24 Sussex Drive in Ottowa, Canada...
And your question reminds me of the guy in the audience who asked Dick Smothers if his mother really did like him best!
Well, at least I'm not asking who they are!
JBB didn't ask a question. Don't forget to flag me, you're on a roll.
Look up what an IRMBs is and get back to us.
Ask Vic.
You just worry about yourself.
Why can’t Canada do this on their own?
they really ought to be paying taxes to the US to defend it.
Agreed
Do you know what NORAD is?
Billions to NORAD
In June 2022, the Canadian government pledged nearly $70 billion to NORAD modernization and continental defence — $4.9 billion on a cash basis for the first six years, and then $38.6 billion over 20 years on an accrual basis. This is an unprecedented amount.
Unprecedented for who?
What Canada is spending is a drop in the bucket as to what the US has spent on NORAD over the years.
It makes sense that the US doesn't list the costs of NORAD separately. Much harder for people to bitch about it when the cost is just rolled into basic military operations. No assets set aside for NORAD means no way of tracking the costs- unless special budgeting set aside for things like USNORTHCOM or Pathfinder.
It is far cheaper for Canada to pay for an upgraded radar and detection system; than to actually pay for a military to defend itself. The US can't do the heavy lifting militarily if Canada cannot detect the threat.
Because they are a member of NORAD with the US being the other member and the agreement has been in existence since 1958.
In June 2022, the Canadian government pledged nearly $70 billion to NORAD modernization and continental defence — $4.9 billion on a cash basis for the first six years, and then $38.6 billion over 20 years on an accrual basis. This is an unprecedented amount.
So the US shoots it down and Trudeau goes to fetch it, I guess that makes Trudeau Biden’s bitch.
He may also be the Earl of Dorincourt.
Too young.
NORAD is a joint venture between the US and Canada as a early warning system and air defense of North America. Both countries scrambled jet to intercept the UFO.
I guess you missed the point, 1 shoots the “duck” and 2 the bitch “dog” fetches it.
Not at all.
Your comment reads....''I guess that makes Trudeau Biden’s bitch.''
Different meaning, and if came down on Canadian land so it's logical that they would retrieve it and bird dogs are not all female bitches, in fact more are male than female.
No worries, you think you know what you meant.
It makes Canada and the U.S. partners in NATO.
Have someone explain the difference between NORAD and NATO.
Balloons over Alburquerque. Warning do not shoot at us, we are friendly balloons.
99 Luftballons
Military shoots down another high-altitude object, over Lake Huron, officials say
I guess this needs updated .....
LOL
One of NORAD's duties is to announce the approach of Santa on his reindeer-powered sled every Christmas eve.