Canada’s Royal Air Force has deployed multiple aircraft to search for debris from an object that was shot down over the Yukon Territory on Feb. 11, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand has said.
A CC-130H Hercules, two CC-138 Twin Otters, a CH-148 Cyclone, and a CH-149 Cormorant aircraft were deployed by the Royal Canadian Air Force to help recover the debris, Anand said on Twitter on Monday.
Dawson city is a small town about 40 miles east of Canada’s border with Alaska.
“But it would be imprudent for me to speculate at this time until we gather the debris and until we do the analysis. The FBI is involved in that analysis as is the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) here in Canada,” the minister added.
The Defense Minister also told the publication that debris from the object is in a “very remote part of Canada” with rugged terrain.
Search for Remaining Objects
The downed object over the Yukon, one of three territories in Canada’s north, marked the third such incident in which U.S. fighter jets shot an object out of the sky in recent weeks, after initially downing a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.On Feb. 10, another unidentified object was shot down over northeastern Alaska, then on Feb. 12, an “octagonal object” was shot down over Lake Huron.
Officials have not yet stated whether the four incidents are all related, citing the need to conduct further analysis. Meanwhile, efforts are underway for the three objects that have get to recovered.
U.S. Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, told reporters on Feb. 12 that the military was still “actively searching” for the object shot down over Alaska.
“I’ve got an Navy P-8, which is surveilling there and with helicopters as well. Once we locate that object, we'll put an arctic security package in there and begin the analysis to recovery. But we don’t have it right now.”
The third object over the Yukon was shot down by a U.S. F-22 Raptor using an AIM 9X missile on Feb. 11 following communication between U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The object was first detected by NORAD over Alaska late Feb. 10, according to Ryder, and two F-22 aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska monitored the object as it flew over U.S. airspace, assisted by the Alaska Air National Guard refueling aircraft.
Sensors Recovered from Spy Balloon
On Monday, the U.S. Northern Command said that key electronics have been recovered from the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, including sensors that are believed to have been used for intelligence gathering.“Crews have been able to recover significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified as well as large sections of the structure,” the U.S. Northern Command said in a statement.
No further details were provided.