Prime Minister Justin Trudeau orders unidentified object shot down above northern Canada

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered a fighter jet to shoot down an unidentified object Saturday that was in Canadian air space.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) -- an American-Canadian joint command tasked with defending the skies over North America, scrambled jets in the afternoon.

"I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace," Trudeau tweeted. "@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."

Trudeau said he talked with US President Joe Biden about the action.

"I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object," Trudeau tweeted. "Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America."

The incident marks the third time objects have been shot down above North American air space in the past seven days.

One week ago, the US downed an alleged Chinese spy balloon and in the aftermath, Biden sanctioned six Chinese entities that are part of Beijing's aerospace industry.

The US again shot down an object Friday off the coast of the state of Alaska. It was described as being the size of a small car but no further details were disclosed.