| Date | February 11, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | Yukon, Canada |
| Type | Airspace violator |
| Outcome | Downed by anAIM-9 Sidewinder missile fired by a U.S. Air ForceF-22 Raptor |
On February 11, 2023,NORAD, at the direction of theCanadian Minister of National Defence andChief of the Defence Staff, downed an unidentified object overYukon.[1][2]
After snowfall in the area made the debris difficult to find, the search was called off on February 17.[3][4]
The object was downed a day after anAlaskan high-altitude object was shot down, and a week after the2023 Chinese balloon incident.
Theprime minister of Canada,Justin Trudeau, said NORAD monitored the object and deployed American and Canadian aircraft. TwoU.S. Air ForceF-22s fromJoint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, assisted by refueling aircraft, monitored the object over U.S. airspace and continued to monitor it as it entered Canadian airspace.Royal Canadian Air ForceCF-18 andCP-140 aircraft joined the formation monitoring the object after it passed into Canadian airspace.[5]
According toThe Wall Street Journal, the object appeared to be a "small metallic balloon with a tethered payload".[6] On February 12, after receiving a briefing from theUnited States National Security Council, U.S.Senate Majority LeaderChuck Schumer said that the U.S. believes that both the Yukon and Alaska objects were balloons.[7] National Security Council spokesmanJohn Kirby stated that they were considering that the balloon, as well asother balloons shot down during the same time period, were "tied to commercial or research entities and therefore totally benign."[8] An anonymous Canadian official speaking toThe Globe and Mail stated that the object was believed to be a surveillance balloon of Chinese or Russian origin.[9]
Minister of National DefenceAnita Anand said the object was flying at an altitude of approximately 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight.[10] She called it cylindrical and smaller than the Chinese balloon shot down a few days earlier. Anand dismissed the idea that there was any reason the impact of the object was of public concern.[11] TheWhite House said presidentJoe Biden and Trudeau had "discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin".[12]
Amateur radio enthusiasts speculated that the object may be an amateur radiopico balloon withcallsign K9YO, from the fact that the balloon's last reported contact was immediately before it drifted over Yukon, at around the same place and time where the shootdown was reported. The balloon had been airborne for 124 days andcircumnavigated the globe 7 times before being reported missing.[13] High-altitude, circumnavigational pico balloons cost between $12 and $180, weigh less than 6 lb and are filled with helium or hydrogen gas. Hobbyists have been using them for a decade.[14] Pico balloons are small enough they are not considered a hazard to aircraft, and thus this balloon was registered with theFederal Communications Commission but not theFederal Aviation Administration.[15]
NORAD ordered a USAF F-22 to down the object in Canadian airspace, marking the fighter's third air-to-air kill.[16] The object was shot down at 3:41 a.m. local time.[17] The object will also be investigated by theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police with assistance from theFederal Bureau of Investigation.[5] This shoot down marked the first deployment of NORAD to down an aerial object within the 64-year history of the US-Canadian aerospace warning and air sovereignty organization.[8]
Canadian military and police forces searched for remnants of the object across a large portion of Yukon, roughly betweenDawson City andMayo.[18] TheRoyal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said that the search area encompassed 3,000 km2 (1,870 sq miles) of "rugged mountain terrain with a very high level ofsnowpack" in Yukon.[19] Canadian Defence Minister Anand said that the debris was located somewhere "northeast of Dawson City" in a remote location amid "complex alpine terrain that is prone to challenging northern weather conditions."[20] Officials cautioned that, due to the vastness and harsh conditions of Yukon, it is possible that the object will not be located.[21]
The RCMP lead the search effort, with coordination byPublic Safety Canada and assistance from Yukon-based units of theCanadian Armed Forces.[20] The U.S. military, FBI, and U.S. Coast Guard also participated.[20]Royal Canadian Air Force assets deployed in the recovery effort included oneCC-130H Hercules search-and-rescue aircraft, twoCC-138 Twin Otterutility aircraft, and variousCH-148 Cyclone andCH-149 Cormorant helicopters.[20]
After snowfall in the area made the debris difficult to find, the search was called off on February 17.[3][4]
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