US F-22 jet shot down an unidentified “high-altitude object” over Alaska

News, US February 12, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified “high-altitude object” flying over the Northern coast of Alaska, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.

The object was about the size of a small car, it wasn’t an aircraft and does not resemble in any way the surveillance balloon.

Air Force Brigadier General Ryder said “We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose, or origin,” however he stressed that the object was nothing like the Chinese balloon that the U.S. shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this week.

According to the Department of Defense, the North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the object on February 9 “using ground radar and sent aircraft to identify the object.”

The statement highlighted that the U.S. Air Force pilots ascertained the object was unmanned and no human was aboard after flying alongside the object before shooting it down.

“The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” Ryder said. Considering that civilian airliners typically fly between 40,000 and 45,000 feet, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered Northern Command to shoot down the object.

The Pentagon press secretary said, “Two F-22s flying out of Joint Base Elmendorf in Alaska, took down the object” using one missile, an AIM-9X Sidewinder.

*^{Pentagon Press Secretary U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder conducts a press briefing at the Pentagon, on February 10, 2022. (Image Credit: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Kubitza)}*

Ryder said during the press briefing that the object fell onto sea ice off the coast of Alaska and U.S. Northern Command has begun recovery operations.

“U.S. Northern Command’s Alaska Command coordinated the operation with assistance from the Alaska Air National Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” the Pentagon press secretary said. Ryder added that “We have HC-130, HH-60, and CH-47 aircraft participating in that recovery” operation.

U.S. senators praised President Biden for making the swift decision to shoot the object. Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee Senator Mark Warner said, “Glad to see the president act swiftly on this new intrusion to our airspace.”

Last week, the U.S. shot down a high-altitude Chinese balloon flying over its airspace. The balloon had been flying at least 60,000 feet high in the air. Several lawmakers criticized the Biden Administration for not shooting down the balloon sooner. However, U.S. President Joe Biden declined to shoot down the balloon due to its large size, worrying that the debris could injure people on the ground. It was not until the balloon reached the coast of South Carolina that it was shot down.

‘Unidentified object’ over northern Canada

A day after the action over Alaska, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that an “unidentified object” had been shot down by a U.S. fighter jet over Canadian airspace on his orders. “Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object,” Trudeau said on Twitter. The object was “cylindrical”, according to Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand.

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