Officials in the Biden administration reportedly planned to keep a Chinese spy balloon, which entered US airspace in late January and was shot down in early February, secret from the public.
The recent Chinese surveillance balloon that drifted across the US was minimized by President Joe Biden, who said he believes Chinese leaders may not have been aware of it. (Source: Daily Mail)
Chinese Spy Balloon to U.S.
The balloon initially denied as a government vessel by Beijing, passed over nuclear missile sites before being destroyed. According to a former senior official briefed on the incident, there was an initial intention to study the balloon quietly without public disclosure. The administration denies any attempt to keep it secret, asserting the motive was to protect intelligence-related matters.
NBC’s report reveals that during a January 27 phone call, General Mark Milley and NORAD Chief Gen. Glen VanHerck discussed sending up jets to gauge the balloon’s characteristics. The object was later identified as a balloon with surveillance capabilities, roughly the size of three school buses. President Biden was briefed on February 1, and the public learned about it after NBC broke the story. VanHerck emphasized that the balloon exposed significant gaps in intelligence agencies and warned that the Chinese balloon program remains ongoing.
The Chinese spy balloon drifted over Alaska and entered US airspace on January 28, passing over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. An F-22 fighter jet shot it down on February 4. The balloon had a self-destruct mechanism, remotely steered at times from China, and fell into waters off the coast of South Carolina. Beijing insisted it was for “meteorological purposes,” and President Biden suggested Chinese leaders may have been unaware of its nature, calling it more embarrassing than intentional. This development follows reports of a Chinese spaceplane, Shenlong, releasing mysterious objects in Earth’s orbit, signaling potential concerns over China’s space activities.
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