Intelligence officials with the Biden administration observed the suspected Chinese spy balloon which ended up being shot down off the coast of South Carolina ever since it first went airborne, stated a number of official reports.
Groups of U.S. monitors were watching as the aircraft ascended from Hainan Island located next to the south coast of China near the end of January close toa week prior to it entering airspace owned by the U.S., read a report from The New York Times, earlier than thought before. Additional reporting coming from CBS News and The Washington Post seem to indicate that U.S. intelligence was tacking the balloon as it moved east over Guam, but it suddenly altered course up to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
BREAKING: CBS News has learned that U.S. intelligence watched the Chinese spy balloon as it lifted off near China's south coast, meaning the U.S. military had been tracking it for nearly a week before it entered U.S. airspace. pic.twitter.com/oaR5yZIRwm
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 15, 2023
The balloon went on to cross over the contiguous United States from Canada. The U.S. government first acknowledged what they suspected to be a reconnaissance balloon back on the 2nd of February as it was spotted floating through Billings, Montana, which sparked Secretary of State Antony Blinken to put a hard stop on a planned trip to China as a form of protest.
The U.S. military elected to not shoot the balloon down until it floated out over the Atlantic Ocean as of the 4th of January, as officials warned that taking it down when it was over land could end up leading to falling debris that could be endangering people below.
While the U.S. assesses that the object was a Chinese spy balloon, China has made the claim that it was a civilian-owned craft used for research that had been blown off course. Both countries have since accused each other of taking part in an expansive balloon spy-craft.
One senior official with the State Department claimed that the Chinese balloon, which went near quite a few U.S. military sites, was outfitted with “multiple antennas” powerful enough to collect signals intelligence, as reported by NBC News.
In the ensuing salvage operation, U.S. North Command explained that crews recovered “significant debris” from the site where the Chinese balloon crashed down, “including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified as well as large sections of the structure.”
The entire ordeal took an odd turn this past weekend when a number of officials reported that U.S. jets shot three unidentified flying objects (UFOs) out of the air over North America: one over Alaska this past Friday, another in Canada on Saturday, and another over Lake Huron this past Sunday.
What these particular flying objects were is still entirely unclear, though the Biden administration made sure to point out that the UFOs are not believed to be from outer space. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) shared a number of insights that Congress was issued from military officials.
“The UAPs [unidentified aerial phenomenons] were in FAA commercial zones and had no signals or navigation lights,” stated Crenshaw. “The first two UAPs were smaller, the size of an ATV, and harder to detect. The third resembled a balloon, and was easier for the radar to pick up. All moved with wind currents.”
The UAPs were in FAA commercial zones and had no signals or navigation lights.
The first two UAPs were smaller, the size of an ATV, and harder to detect. The third resembled a balloon, and was easier for the radar to pick up.
All moved with wind currents.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) February 14, 2023
