Two Latest Objects Flying Over North America Were Also Balloons, Intelligence Officials Believe
top line
US intelligence officials believe the two latest flying objects shot down over Canada and Alaska this week were also balloons, Senator Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) said Sunday as he last week detailed the downing of the suspected Chinese spy balloon demanded about South Carolina. humiliating” for the Chinese government.
Important facts
The latest revelations about the objects shot down over Alaska on Friday and Canada on Saturday followed a briefing with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Schumer told ABC This week Anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Schumer called the discovery of the suspected surveillance balloon program dating back to the Trump administration “wild” and questioned why Congress only recently learned that three balloons had been identified during Trump’s administration, along with at least two under Biden.
Schumer called the downing of the suspected Chinese spy balloon as it hovered off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4 a “major coup for the United States,” and said the Chinese “were lied to” when the State Department claimed the Ballon was a civil weather research vessel that had gone off course.
key background
US F-22 fighter jets shot down three craft over North America in a week, with the latest incident taking place in Canada over the Yukon on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, the military also shot down a plane that was flying over Alaska. Canadian and US military officials have said they are investigating the origin and purpose of the two latest ships, but have not indicated they are linked to the suspected Chinese spy balloon. This balloon was shot down on February 4, more than two days after it was spotted hovering over Billings, Mont., not far from one of the US’s three nuclear silo fields.
tangent
Both houses of Congress received intelligence on the suspected spy balloon last week, as lawmakers asked the Biden administration to release more information about the five balloons discovered during the presidencies of former President Donald Trump and Biden. Schumer said Sunday he had “a lot of confidence” in the way military and intelligence officials have handled the situations, but said he supports the Senate effort led by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to press the Pentagon for more details. The House is also seeking more information, and on Friday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Chinese over the alleged spy balloon that also called on the Biden administration to keep lawmakers regularly informed as it gathers additional information.
Further reading
Everything we know about the craft shot down over Canada, a day after a similar incident over Alaska (Forbes)
Everything We Know About the ‘High Altitude Object’ Shot Down Over Alaska (Forbes)
US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon across Atlantic (Forbes)
follow me Twitter. Send me a safe tip.