On Saturday, an unidentified flying object was shot down over Canada’s Yukon territory. The incident was detected by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and resulted in a U.S. F-22 fighter jet being scrambled to intercept it.
Canadian Prime Minister Justice Trudeau took to Twitter to confirm that the object had been successfully taken down and that Canadian and American aircraft had been mobilized for the mission.
“I spoke with President [Joe] Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America,” he wrote.
I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object. Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023
The Yukon is a sparsely populated region of Canada located north of British Columbia and adjacent to Alaska’s eastern border. It is still unclear what the object was or where it came from, but NORAD has confirmed that it did violate Canadian airspace and triggered an alert response. Trudeau also noted that he had spoken with President Joe Biden following the incident, indicating its significance.
The fact that an unidentified flying object could make its way into Canadian airspace without being noticed until it crossed international borders raises serious questions about the security of North America as a whole. If such objects can so easily penetrate our air defenses, what else might be able to get through? This event highlights just how important NORAD is in monitoring our skies and keeping us safe from potential threats.
Pentagon officials say the object shot down over Alaska Friday was about the "size of a small car" and not similar in size or shape to the Chinese surveillance balloon that was taken down off the coast of South Carolina last week. https://t.co/svdmjfEfqv pic.twitter.com/LScYKgNW1b
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 10, 2023
While we still don’t know what the unidentified object was or where it originated from, it’s encouraging to know that there are systems in place like NORAD which can rapidly respond when needed and protect us all from harm. Thanks again to NORAD for keeping watch over North America!
