Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he received a report of an unknown flying object that violated U.S. airspace off the coast of Alaska on February 10 and was shot down by U.S. forces.
“This afternoon an object was shot down that violated US airspace. I was briefed on the matter and supported the decision to take action,” Trudeau wrote. his twitter account.
He added that Canadian and U.S. military and intelligence agencies will always work together to “keep our people safe” through the bilateral defense organization, the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The unknown flying object tracked by the US military for the past 24 hours was shot down on the orders of US President Joe Biden, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in November 2018. rice field. Press conference Early on February 10th.
He said the object was flying at an altitude of about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters), a “reasonable threat” to civil flight safety. The object fell into US territorial waters.
Kirby said the object was roughly the size of a small car and much smaller than the giant balloon that was shot down by an Air Force fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina last week. The spy balloon was also in Canadian territory.
The object flew over one of the wildest places in the country on Alaska’s North Slope. There, his two closest communities, Deadhorse and Kaktovik, have a combined population of about 300.
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Feb. 10 that his F-22 fighter jets, based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, used his AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missiles to target objects. said to have shot down the We got off the balloon almost a week ago.
The successful back-to-back shooting down of two objects in recent weeks reflects growing concerns about China’s surveillance program and pressure on the White House to take a tough stance on Beijing, the report said. Canadian Press reported.
The Pentagon, however, declined to provide a more precise description of the object on Feb. 10, only saying that it determined that the U.S. pilot who flew to observe it did not appear to be manned.
The Liberal Party government has also remained tight-lipped about the incident, as has the downing of a Chinese spy balloon.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino previously said Ottawa did not inform the public about the Chinese spy balloon until it was reported by the US government and media because “lives are at risk”.
“Your life is at stake. There are dangerous techniques. This is complicated,” Mendicino said while testifying before the Canada-China House Committee on Feb. 6.
Canadian Press contributed to this report.