Justin Trudeau orders Canadian and U.S. fighter jets to shoot down unidentified flying object over central Yukon
OTTAWA-Recovery operations are underway in Yukon after Canadian and U.S. fighter jets scrambled Saturday to shoot down an unidentified and unmanned object, the third such high-altitude incident in a week.
Defence Minister Anita Anand characterized the object as cylindrical, potentially similar" to a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over the U.S. last week, but would not speculate further on its origins or purpose, saying analysis is now underway.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed he gave the order to take down the object after it crossed into Canadian airspace; North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) had first detected the object over Alaska on Friday night.
Anand said it was shot down at 3:41 p.m. EST, about 40,000 feet over central Yukon over fears it posed a civilian threat.
She said it is smaller but potentially similar" to the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down off the coast of North Carolina last week.
We will make sure that we leave no stone unturned in the analysis of the data," Anand said.
The Pentagon said in a statement Saturday evening that American fighter jets had been monitoring and tracking the object, and trying to characterize" the nature of it.
When it crossed into Canadian territory, two Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joined to assess the situation.
Anand characterized the mission as the essence of how NORAD is suppose to work, and said a decision was made to have Canadian and U.S. planes in the air to ensure there were sufficient assets" to ensure it could be taken down.
Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defence staff, described the object as a balloon. He said specific instructions were given to the pilots of both countries - operating under the command of a Canadian general - that whoever had the first best shot" would shoot first.
The order to shoot was given by Trudeau after discussions with U.S. President Joe Biden.
The object is the third one known to have violated North American airspace in the past two weeks, but the first whose presence has been revealed while it was flying over Canada.
A suspected Chinese spy balloon had re-entered the U.S. after flying over Alaska and parts of western Canada two weeks ago before it was publicly identified on Feb. 1. The balloon was shot down off the coast of North Carolina on Feb. 5.
A second object was shot down after flying into Alaskan airspace on Friday. U.S. officials have not provided any details on what it was, except to say that it was different than the Chinese balloon.
Taken together, the incidents create new urgency for the Liberals government's promises to upgrade Canada's Arctic defence capability.
Last June, Anand announced $4.9 billion over six years to modernize NORAD, part of $40 billion in proposed spending over the next 20 years to bring continental defence up to par.
And in January, the Liberals finalized a plan to buy new fighter jets for Canada, a fleet of 88 F-35s with a starting price tag of $19 billion.
With files from The Canadian Press
Stephanie Levitz is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @StephanieLevitz