US and Canadian officials reported that a high-altitude object that had been monitored across northern Canada had been shot down over the Yukon.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Twitter that he had given the order to shoot down "an unidentified object" that breached Canadian airspace, according to ABC News.
The Canadian leader also noted that a US F-22 was able to effectively fire at the high altitude object after being "scrambled" together with Canadian and American planes.
Trudeau has said that the Canadian Forces will collect the debris and conduct an investigation.
Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the North American Aerospace Defense Command spotted the high-altitude object over Alaska late Friday evening.
The official said that two US F-22s were following the high altitude object over Alaska, and when it went into Canadian airspace, Canadian fighters joined them.
I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace. @NORADCommand shot down the object over the Yukon. Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 11, 2023
The Pentagon confirms the incident in its statement released on Saturday, saying that the United States military shot down a high-altitude unidentified flying object above Canada.
After speaking with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder released a statement saying that US President Joe Biden has given NORAD permission to assist the Canadian government in shooting down a "high-altitude airborne object."
The Pentagon claims that the high altitude flying object was seen above Alaska on Friday night and that NORAD, with the help of the Alaska Air National Guard, was following it attentively and taking time to describe "the nature of the object" as it flew through American territory, per Fox News.
According to the report, an US F-22 Raptor fired an AIM 9X missile at the UFO as it was flying over Canadian territory.
Is the Flying Object Another Chinese Spy Balloon?
The item's identity and relationship to last week's spy balloon and Friday's unidentified high-altitude flying object are unknown.
After determining that a 40,000-foot "high-altitude object" above Alaska constituted a "reasonable hazard to civilian aviation traffic," the US military shot it down on Friday. US Northern Command fighter jets downed the object, which Biden called a "success."
Debris on ice in US territorial waters is being recovered by recovery crews.
Less than a week before, following days of tracing the balloon's trip across US territory, a US fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.
Last Saturday, an American F-22 fighter plane shot down a Chinese spy balloon. According to the White House, the balloon was aiming for "critical military locations" as part of an ongoing plot that US officials had known about for years.
Chinese Spy Balloon Revealed To Be Capable of Capturing Communications, Photos
The spy balloon discovery worsened the tensions between the US and China, forcing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his first high-level trip to Beijing.
Consequently, China blasted the United States for its "overreaction" and severe violation of "international norms."
Republicans and some Democrats have attacked Biden for neglecting to take down a 60,000-foot Chinese spy balloon that breached US airspace over Alaska on January 28. In the end, it got shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
The Chinese spy balloon was discovered to possess the technology to capture communications and photos, making the situation even more serious, according to an earlier HNGN report.
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