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WASHINGTON—The military command in charge of U.S. air defenses failed to detect suspected Chinese surveillance balloons before the recent intrusion and learned about them later from intelligence agencies, the general overseeing the command said Monday, acknowledging a gap in defenses. Gen. Glen VanHerck , commander of Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, contrasted those previous lapses in detecting balloons with the airship the military tracked and shot down Saturday. He described a surveillance gap and said the U.S. is trying to determine why the earlier flights went undetected.

☆ The 3 Chinese spy balloons spotted during the Trump administration were initially classified as UFOs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Chinese spy balloon seen floating over the United States was shot down on Saturday. Three spy balloons were seen during the Trump administration and were initially classified as UFOs. Trump, however, denies the balloons ever existedIn a Sunday interview with Fox News, Trump said the Biden administration lied about Chinese balloons being seen during his term because "they look so bad." It is unclear if the spy balloons seen during the Trump administration were shot down, as limited details about the incidents were only made public this week. Balloon surveillance has been utilized as far back as the 1800s, according to Al Jazeera, and was popularized during the first World War.

☆ Photos capture the moment US Navy sailors pulled the downed Chinese balloon out of the ocean
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Newly released photos show US sailors pulling a downed Chinese spy balloon out of the ocean. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. It then traveled southeast across the continental US before it was downed off the Coast of South Carolina. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.

☆ MTG demands probe over why former President Trump was apparently not informed of previous Chinese balloons over the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marjorie Taylor Greene called for a probe into why Trump wasn't informed about spy balloons. Three Chinese surveillance balloons entered US air space during his presidency, officials said. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 6, 2023The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Insider's out-of-hours request for comment. Senior administration officials speaking to Fox News and The Washington Post said they were discovered only after Trump left office. "Two things can be true at once: this happened, and it wasn't detected," one official told Fox.

[1/2] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Randall HillWASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Sunday it is searching for remnants of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down the previous day, in a dramatic spy saga that has further strained American-Chinese relations. A successful recovery could potentially give the United States insight into China's spying capabilities, though U.S. officials have downplayed the balloon's impact on national security. Democrats said Biden's decision to wait to shoot down the balloon until it had passed over the United States protected civilians from debris crashing to Earth. The Pentagon will brief senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said.

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. general responsible for bringing down a Chinese spy balloon said on Monday the military had not detected previous spy balloons before the one that appeared on Jan. 28 over the United States and called it an "awareness gap." The Pentagon said over the weekend that Chinese spy balloons had briefly flown over the United States at least three times during President Donald Trump's administration and one previously under President Joe Biden. He did not provide details on previous balloons, including where over the United States they flew. Senior U.S. officials have offered to brief individuals from the previous administration on the details of previous balloons overflights when Trump was president. A U.S. Air Force fighter jet shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast on Saturday, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace and triggered a dramatic -- and public -- spying saga that worsened Sino-U.S. relations.

☆ U.S. military searches for balloon remnants as China urges restraint
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A successful recovery could potentially give the United States insight into China's spying capabilities, though U.S. officials have downplayed the balloon's impact on national security. A U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon in the Atlantic off South Carolina on Saturday, a response China described as an "obvious overreaction". Brokerage ING said in a Monday note that the incident could exacerbate the "tech war" and would have negative near-term impact on China's yuan currency. "This new risk is more of a long-term risk than an imminent one," ING said. China's yuan fell to a low of 6.8077 per dollar in early Monday trading, touching the weakest level in nearly a month.

☆ Meet the 'Arizona Balloon Buster,' the ace WWI pilot famous for shooting down enemy balloons on 'suicide' missions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For his efforts in the skies above the battlefield, Luke became famous as the "Arizona Balloon Buster," according to the US Air Force. Shortly after the US entered World War I in the spring of 1917, the 20-year-old enlisted in the military and trained to become a pilot. These expensive assets were protected by anti-aircraft guns and aircraft, so trying to attack them was "practically suicide," the Air Force said. American World War I fighter ace, Frank Luke Jr (1897 - 1918), with his SPAD S.XIII biplane, France, 18th September 1918. Luke Air Force Base in Arizona is named after Frank Luke Jr., and the ace pilot also has a statue in Phoenix.

Beijing condemned the shooting down of the balloon as an "obvious overreaction" and urged Washington to show restraint. Some U.S. Republicans have questioned why the balloon was not shot down before it was allowed to travel across the United States. Senior U.S. officials have offered to brief former Trump administration officials on the details of what the White House said were three China balloon overflights when Donald Trump was president. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China learned its balloon had drifted over the United States after being notified by Washington. On Sunday, Colombia's military said it sighted an airborne object similar to a balloon after the Pentagon said on Friday another Chinese balloon was flying over Latin America.

☆ U.S. working to recover suspected Chinese spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - The United States is working to recover a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina, according to a statement released by the Pentagon on Sunday. "Our U.S. Navy component is currently conducting recovery operations, with the U.S. Coast Guard assisting in securing the area and maintaining public safety," General Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, said. China says the airship was used for meteorological and other scientific purposes. Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Suspected Chinese spy balloon found over northern U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Courtney Kube | Carol E. Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Pentagon would not confirm that the balloon in the photo was the surveillance balloon. The U.S. military has been monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been hovering over the northern U.S. for the past few days, and military and defense leaders have discussed shooting it out of the sky, according to two U.S. officials and a senior defense official. "The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brig. A senior defense official said the balloon is still over the U.S. but declined to say where it is now. Pentagon leaders presented the options to President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

☆ Russia's troops are tied down in Ukraine, but some of its best subs are still holding the US 'at risk,' top US commanders say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US military leaders have warned that Russia's Severodvinsk-class subs are operating near US coasts. Severodvinsk-class subs have a mix of stealth and striking power that worries US and NATO navies. Russia plans to build nine Severodvinsk-class subs, which it calls the Yasen class, and may add more in the future. In addition to nuclear propulsion, Severodvinsk-class subs have advanced quieting technology and are built with low-magnetic steel, making them harder to detect. They demonstrated it in the mid-2010s by firing Kalibr cruise missiles at ISIS targets in Syria, surprising some US officials.

Over recent years, NATO allies and Russia have scaled up military exercises in the region; Chinese and Russian warships conducted a joint exercise in the Bering Sea in September. Four Arctic experts say it would take the West at least 10 years to catch up with Russia's military in the region, if it chose to do so. "NATO is increasing its presence in the Arctic with more modern capabilities," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters. Now NATO and Arctic allies are changing their stance. Sweden and Finland have begun investing in surveillance and deterrence capabilities and military hardware including jets so their air forces can fight alongside Arctic NATO allies.

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