Two or more potential spy balloons are being monitored by the US military – one of them in the skies over Canada

NORAD has confirmed that the US military is monitoring yet another potential spy balloon currently flying over Canada.

This comes shortly after an unidentified object was shot down over Alaska after it was able to enter US airspace before being detected, officials have revealed.

“We have identified with certainty a high-altitude object over Northern Canada,” NORAD officials said in a statement.

“While we are unable to discuss details regarding these activities at this time, please note that NORAD conducts sustained, distributed operations in defense of North America through any or all three NORAD regions,” Major Olivier Gallant said. , a NORAD spokesperson, in a statement.

Earlier Saturday, Canada’s Worldwide news has reported that security sources were monitoring “one or two more objects” that they believed could be spy balloons.

A source told Fox News that the previously unidentified object was discovered “above Alaska, not far from the north shore.” The object was first seen north of Anchorage, Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson tweeted.

It comes after sources told CNN the military had developed a method of tracking spy balloons last year — despite the object, said to be the size of a small car, not being picked up on radar until after it was over Alaska.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby revealed on Friday that it was shot within an hour of an order from President Joe Biden. The Pentagon has since sent military helicopters to retrieve it from frozen water.

Officials have yet to confirm what the object is or which country it belongs to. It is unclear if it is another Chinese spy balloon similar to the one shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month.

Officials said it was flying at an altitude potentially harmful to civilian aircraft. The New York Times reported.

The object was shot down by an F-22 using an A9X missile from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.

Several officials also said the object shattered into pieces after being hit by the missile, adding to the mystery of what the object really is.

A US official revealed that the pilots who intercepted the object said it was cylindrical in shape and had no observable surveillance equipment attached to it.

The Pentagon has now launched a salvage operation to collect the surface debris from the frozen waters off the coast of Alaska.

The US began developing a system to detect spy balloons shortly after Biden took office in 2021 after a Chinese spy balloon briefly flew over the US. They use the balloon’s signals to run a test to see where other balloons have popped up in the past.

What they found enabled them to develop a consistent technical method for tracking balloons around the world. They started using the method in 2022 and have not revealed how it was ultimately developed or how signals are detected, according to CNN.

Biden called the second operation in Alaska a “success” when White House reporters inquired about it — but Republicans were quick to ask why the US had not shot down the surveillance balloon in Beijing sooner.

“So we can shoot suspicious objects BEFORE they cross our border… Just as I suggested,” Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall tweeted Friday afternoon.

Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, a Republican, said in a Friday press release that he “appreciated the senior Department of Defense officials who informed me this morning of the sighting of this latest object.

“As I did this past week, including during a classified briefing with senior Pentagon officials yesterday, I strongly encouraged the NORTHCOM commander this morning to shoot down this latest unidentified intrusion in Alaskan airspace,” he said. Sullivan. “I commend them for doing that today.

“As I reiterated yesterday with senior Defense Department officials, we must restore deterrence with regard to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, who believe they can deliberately infiltrate US airspace whenever they choose.

‘That has to stop. The best way to do this is through the kind of actions we took today in Alaska and by publicly reiterating that we will shoot down any unknown aircraft that violate our airspace.

“We also need to properly equip our Alaskan military with the sensors and aircraft needed to detect and, if necessary, destroy everything from slow-moving balloons to hypersonic missiles.

Alaska is our nation’s line of defense. That has become even clearer in recent weeks.’

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that four previous Chinese spy balloon flights over the United States passed over sites that “would be of interest to the Chinese.”

Officials did not elaborate on the paths the balloons followed or whether the US sites were military sites.

Pentagon spokesman Ryder said the United States knew about the four previous flights before discovering the latest Chinese balloon before it arrived over Alaska on Jan. 28.

A US military fighter jet shot down that balloon off the coast of South Carolina, prompting condemnation from China, which claimed it was a civilian aircraft.

China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and imminent repercussions.

Biden issued the order, but had wanted to bring down the balloon earlier, on Wednesday.

He was told the best time for the operation would be when it was above water, US officials said.

Military officials determined that the downing overland from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an unnecessary risk to people on the ground from falling debris.

China responded that it reserved the right to “take further action” and criticized the US for “a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”