February 12, 2023 - U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a senior member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and the leading expert in Congress on Arctic policy and polar affairs, on Saturday released the following statement after a U.S. F-22 shot down an unidentified object over Canada.

“For the third time in the past week, U.S. forces have brought down a high-altitude object that was violating sovereign airspace—this time, just across the border in the Yukon, in direct cooperation with our Canadian allies and at the direction of Canada’s Prime Minister. 

“I again commend the excellent mission execution by our military men and women from the 11th Air Force and the Alaska Air National Guard, as well as the leadership at Alaska NORAD and NORTHCOM, in taking this object down.

“As operations continue off of Alaska’s north coast to recover the debris from the object shot down yesterday, I also greatly appreciate all of the Air Guardsmen from the Rescue Triad who are engaged in those critical efforts, which are taking place in harsh conditions and terrain. It is those difficult operations that will allow us to determine what these objects are and who is violating our sovereignty.

“As we learn more about these objects, I will continue to encourage maximum transparency so that Alaskans have the greatest possible understanding of what they are and what we are doing, on the front line of our nation’s defense, to take them safely out of the sky.” 
Source: Senator Lisa Murkowski