U.S. forces shoot down 'unidentified object' over Canada airspace

U.S. forces on Saturday shot down an "unidentified object" over Canadian airspace, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday.

The prime minister made the announcement via Twitter amid reports circulating of another airborne object floating over Canada.

"I ordered the take down of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace," he said, "[NORAD] 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," he also said.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said at a press conference later the takedown of the "small cylindrical object" was a "joint effort" with aircraft from Canada. 

"This was a NORAD mission," she said.

The White House also issued a statement, saying, "Earlier today, President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Trudeau on the unidentified, unmanned object in North American air space. The object was closely tracked and monitored by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) over the last 24 hours and the president has been continually briefed by his national security team since the object was detected." 

A NORAD spokesman had earlier confirmed to Canada's CTV News that "military aircraft are currently operating from Alaska and Canada in support of North American Aerospace Defense Command activities" and that the joint initiative has "positively identified a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada."

"While we cannot discuss specifics related to these activities at this time, please note that NORAD conducts sustained, dispersed operations in the defense of North America through one or all three NORAD regions," the organization said to the news network.

The object being spotted Saturday follows a U.S. Air Force fighter jet on Feb. 4 shooting down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the South Carolina coast, after the vessel traversed the country, in a path over several military installations. 

The Pentagon said Friday that a small, unidentified object had been shot down over Alaska, as ordered by President Biden.