Key takeaways:
- The Pentagon revealed that three Chinese spy balloons were able to transit the continental United States undetected under the Trump administration.
- The Pentagon is now working to address this domain awareness gap and ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future.
- The incident has raised concerns about the security of the United States, and the Pentagon is now taking steps to ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future.
The Pentagon has revealed that three Chinese spy balloons were able to transit the continental United States undetected under the Trump administration. This comes after the fourth balloon, which was brought down on Saturday, was found to be carrying a payload similar in size to a regional jetliner.
General Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command, said that the payload weighed in excess of a couple thousand pounds. The balloon was also estimated to be around 20 stories tall, or over twice as tall as the 2022 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
VanHerck said that the incident revealed a “domain awareness gap” that needs to be addressed. Republicans and some Democrats have criticized President Joe Biden for failing to bring down the balloon earlier, but VanHerck said in this instance size did matter.
The Pentagon is now working to address this domain awareness gap and ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future. The U.S. military is also working to develop better technology and methods to detect and track foreign objects in the sky.
The incident has raised concerns about the security of the United States, and the Pentagon is now taking steps to ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future. It is unclear what the Chinese government’s intentions were in sending the balloons, but the incident has highlighted the need for improved security measures.
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