US Shoots Down Unidentified High-Altitude Airborne Object Over North Canada, Second In 2 Days

US President Joe Biden and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau spoke to each other about the unmanned high-altitude airborne object found over northern Canada before it was shot down by US fighter jets.

New Delhi: An unidentified, unmanned high-altitude airborne object was shot down by US fighter jets on Saturday over northern Canada after it entered its air space from Alaska. The decision in this regard was taken following a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the White House said. 

This comes after the US had shot down an object flying at the height of about 40,000 feet off the northern coast of Alaska on Biden's orders on Friday.

According to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig Gen Pat Ryder, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected the object over Alaska late Friday evening.

According to the White House, a US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in close coordination with Canadian authorities.

"Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau authorized it to be taken down," the White House statement informed, adding that Biden authorised US fighter aircraft assigned to NORAD to conduct the operation and a US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in close coordination with Canadian authorities.

President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau commended NORAD’s and US Northern Command's strong and effective partnership and further agreed to work in close coordination.

"The leaders discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin. President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau commended NORAD’s and US Northern Command's strong and effective partnership and agreed to continue their close coordination to detect, track, and defend our airspace," the White House said.

Following the Biden-Trudeau phone call, two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska monitored the object over US airspace with the assistance of Alaska Air National Guard refuelling aircraft, tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object, Pentagon Press Secretary Ryder said, as reported by news agency PTI.

Monitoring continued Saturday as the object crossed into Canadian airspace, with Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joining the formation to further assess the object.

"A US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory using an AIM 9X missile following close coordination between US and Canadian authorities, to include a call today between Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III and Minister of Defence Anita Anand,” Ryder informed.

"As Canadian authorities conduct recovery operations to help our countries learn more about the object, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," he added.