U.S. fighter shoots down object over Canada, Trudeau says

The U.S. military shot down an "unidentified object" in Canada's Yukon Territory, officials from both countries said late Saturday.

In a series of tweets, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he "ordered the takedown of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace." Following Trudeau's order, "Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object," the prime minister said.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand added that the object had been flying at about 40,000 feet when it was shot down about 100 miles north of the U.S.-Canada border.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Trudeau added that he spoke with President Biden about the incident, and Canadian military officials will begin efforts to recover the object.

Details about the object have not been revealed, though it was described as a "small metallic balloon" carrying an unspecified payload, senior U.S. officials told Fox News on Sunday.

According to a statement from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the object was first detected over Alaska on Friday before it moved into Canadian airspace. USA Today noted that the Pentagon operates a number of military facilities in Alaska, including radar systems designed to track and intercept unknown flying objects.

It is unclear if the events in Canada were related to a series of other objects that have been shot down in recent days.

This includes a separate unidentified object shot down over Alaska on Friday, as well as a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last weekend off the coast of South Carolina. Details on all three incidents remain slim, but NORAD said it will continue to monitor for any additional activity in the skies.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told ABC News' This Week that he believed all three objects were balloons, though military officials have not confirmed this.