> Should Canada have acted when it flew into Canadian airspace?
> The short answer, according to military experts, is no.
> "To say that, oh, Canada should have shot this balloon down on its own — that's just silly," said University of Calgary history professor and military historian David Bercuson.
> "That just completely ignores the fact that NORAD exists that we're part of it and have been part of it for almost 80 years now."
And yes, it also says this:
> The operating altitude of Canada's CF-18 Hornet fighter jets is 50,000 feet (15,000 metres), while Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the balloon had been flying at about 60,000 feet (18,000 metres) — potentially out of range for those jets.
However that ignores the fact that the F22 that shot down the balloon did so from 40,000 feet. Using a similar missile, a CF-18 certainly could have done the same.
Your first quote, about "should", is not relevant, as I was talking about "could". The second part, about it being 'potentially out of range for those jets' is indeed what I was talking about.
But it makes no sense. You can't view it like that. Canadian fighter jets are part of the same organization as the American fighter jets.
We don't need to own those jets for them to be useful for us. Why would we buy jets for this purpose if the US is already guarding our skies with jets having this capability ?
Why does it matter ?
Also, the articles you linked aren't saying that "the RCAF can't defend their territory". They are stating capabilities. You are twisting facts or you really don't understand what is going on. Canadian medias are not making that mistake you make.
> Should Canada have acted when it flew into Canadian airspace?
> The short answer, according to military experts, is no.
> "To say that, oh, Canada should have shot this balloon down on its own — that's just silly," said University of Calgary history professor and military historian David Bercuson.
> "That just completely ignores the fact that NORAD exists that we're part of it and have been part of it for almost 80 years now."
And yes, it also says this:
> The operating altitude of Canada's CF-18 Hornet fighter jets is 50,000 feet (15,000 metres), while Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the balloon had been flying at about 60,000 feet (18,000 metres) — potentially out of range for those jets.
However that ignores the fact that the F22 that shot down the balloon did so from 40,000 feet. Using a similar missile, a CF-18 certainly could have done the same.