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U.S. Reveals Extent of Chinese Spy Balloon Program, Says It’s ‘False’ That U.S. Does the Same to China

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The U.S. disputed accusations from China on Monday after the communist nation claimed that the U.S. operates spy balloons over its country.

China’s allegation comes after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on February 4 off the coast of South Carolina and has since downed unidentified objects over Alaska, Canada, and Lake Huron over the weekend.

“It is also common for U.S. balloons to illegally enter the airspace of other countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed. “Since last year, U.S. high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China’s airspace more than 10 times without the approval of Chinese authorities.”

The Associated Press noted that Wang offered no details to substantiate his accusations and would not say how the alleged incursions happened or if they were connected to the U.S. government.

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that the communist nation’s claims were a lie and that China was trying to deflect from the embarrassing situation they have caused. (Read more from “U.S. Reveals Extent of Chinese Spy Balloon Program, Says It’s ‘False’ That U.S. Does the Same to China” HERE)

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Pentagon Shoots Down ANOTHER Unidentified Object, This Time Over Canada; Yesterday, UFO Shot Down Over Alaska; Total of Four

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By Faris Tanyos. An “unidentified object” which “violated “Canadian airspace” was shot down over Canada Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced.

The object was shot down by a U.S. military F-22 fighter jet over the Yukon, Trudeau said.

A U.S. official had previously confirmed that the object was detected by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and appeared to be a “high-altitude balloon.”

Trudeau tweeted that “Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled” after he “ordered the take down” of the object by NORAD.

In a statement to CBS News, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that it was first detected over Alaska on Friday night, and then monitored by two F-22 fighter jets with the assistance of the Alaska Air National Guard. (Read more about the unidentified object that was shot down over Canada HERE)
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Fourth “Unidentified Object” Located Over Montana, Says Congressman

By Harriet Alexander. A Montana congressman said on Saturday night that he had been told an unidentified object was spotted over his district, forcing the temporary closure of airspace – and the search for it would resume at daylight.

Matt Rosendale, a Republican elected in 2020, said he had been briefed by the Department of Defense, while he was at a Lincoln Reagan dinner.

Fighter jets were scrambled and airspace above Havre, a town of 10,000 people, 30 miles south of the Canadian border, was shut at 7:50pm before being reopened about 50 minutes later.

‘I’m at an event, a Lincoln Reagan dinner in Columbus, Montana right now,’ Rosendale told Fox News.

‘And DOD called me as I have been sitting here and started giving me briefings to tell me what was going on. I clarified with them that this is actually the fourth balloon, OK.’ (Read more about the fourth unidentified object HERE)

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Mystery Object Shot Down Over Alaska

By New York Times. The Pentagon said it shot down an unidentified object over frozen waters around Alaska on Friday at the order of President Biden, less than a week after a U.S. fighter jet brought down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic in an episode that increased tensions between Washington and Beijing.

U.S. officials said they could not immediately confirm whether the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft.

At a news conference on Friday, John F. Kirby, a White House spokesman, said Mr. Biden ordered the unidentified object near Alaska downed “out of an abundance of caution.”

The Friday shootdown showed Mr. Biden taking direct and forceful action far more quickly than he did last week, when some Republican lawmakers criticized him for letting the spy balloon linger over the United States for several days before destroying it. But that period of observation last week allowed American officials to collect intelligence about the spy balloon, while in the episode on Friday, officials seemed unsure about what exactly they shot down. (Read more from “Pentagon Shoots Down Unidentified Object at High Altitude Over Alaska” HERE)

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After China Balloon Scare, Air Force Shoots Down Object Flying Above Alaska’s North Slope

By Alaska Public Media. An F-22 fighter jet from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down an unidentified object flying above Alaska’s North Slope on Friday, officials at the White House said.

The shootdown, at 9:45 a.m. Alaska time, took place less than a week after an Air Force fighter jet shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina. . .

John Kirby, the National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, said in a news conference that the object on Friday was “much, much smaller” than the Chinese surveillance balloon and was “about the size of a small car.” . . .

President Joe Biden ordered the object be shot down, Kirby said. It was traveling at an elevation of about 40,000 feet and could have posed a threat to commercial aviation, he said. (Read more from “After China Balloon Scare, Air Force Shoots Down Object Flying Above Alaska’s North Slope” HERE)

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China Wants Its Downed Spy Aircraft Back, Blasts U.S. ‘Use of Force’ Response to Surveillance Flight

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The People’s Republic of China is requesting the return of its surveillance aircraft after the balloon was shot down over the continental United States on Saturday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning fielded questions Tuesday about the incident, which dominated news cycles and commanded attention from U.S. politicians.

Asked for additional information regarding the purpose of the spy balloon and reports of similar aircraft making routes through North American and South American airspace, Mao declined.

“The Chinese side has given information about the unmanned airship on several occasions. I don’t have anything to add at the moment,” she stated.

The Pentagon said it “acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information” from the spy platform. But geopolitical experts said there is little reason to believe those efforts were successful as the balloon almost certainly transferred surveillance data over to China as it flew over several military bases. (Read more from “China Wants Its Downed Spy Aircraft Back, Blasts U.S. ‘Use of Force’ Response to Surveillance Flight” HERE)

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Dry Run: Balloons Called Top ‘Delivery Platform’ for Nuclear EMP Attack

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High-altitude balloons, such as the one China has floated over mountain state military bases this week, are considered a key “delivery platform” for secret nuclear strikes on America’s electric grid, according to intelligence officials.

Spy balloons, used by Japan to drop bombs during World War II, are now far more sophisticated, can fly at up to 200,000 feet, evade detection, and can carry a small nuclear bomb that, if exploded in the atmosphere, would shut down the grid and wipe out electronics in a many-state-wide area.

The threat of balloon-launched electromagnetic pulse attacks was warned about by a congressional EMP commission and inside the military several years ago.

In a 2015 report for the American Leadership & Policy Foundation, Air Force Maj. David Stuckenberg, one of the nation’s leading EMP experts, wrote extensively about the threat balloons carrying bombs pose to national security. . .

On Friday, he told Secrets, “China’s recent balloon flyover of the United States is clearly a provocative and aggressive act. It was most likely a type of dry run meant to send a strategic message to the USA. We must not take this for granted.” (Read more from “Dry Run: Balloons Called Top ‘Delivery Platform’ for Nuclear EMP Attack” HERE)

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Balloons for Spying, Countering Drones and Psychological Warfare, Chinese Military Writings Reveal

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China’s People’s Liberation Army plans to use high-altitude balloons to counter long-range U.S. drones, launch psychological warfare operations and gather intelligence, a review of Chinese military and technical writings reveals.

Beijing also reportedly test-fired a hypersonic missile from an airship in 2018, highlighting the military’s interest in multiple uses for lighter-than-air aircraft.

The U.S. decision to dispatch an F-22 to shoot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the Carolina coast Saturday, after it traveled across the country from northern Montana, has focused new attention on the capabilities and threats posed by helium-filled, maneuverable craft.

Defense officials said little intelligence could be gained from sensitive military sites along the path despite the delay in knocking out the balloon. The maneuverable craft’s sensors fell into relatively shallow waters intact and are expected to be recovered. (Read more from “Balloons for Spying, Countering Drones and Psychological Warfare, Chinese Military Writings Reveal” HERE)

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New Info on Chinese Spy Balloon From NORAD Commander Is Jaw-Dropping

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At this point, everything the Biden team says about the Chinese spy balloon just seems to make the problem worse.

One of the big questions that people have had is why the balloon wasn’t shot down earlier, for example, over the Aleutian Islands, near Alaska. Or over any of the less populated areas of Alaska, Canada, or Montana that it went over?

Now, they’re out with more comments and they’re not helping themselves. They had earlier claimed they didn’t have a “water shot.” That answer has now “evolved” further.

According to the Department of Defense, the U.S. did not have time to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon right after it crossed into Alaskan waters.

The balloon “did not present a physical threat” to the US and Canada, said Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). “I could not take immediate action because it was not demonstrating … hostile intent.”

(Read more from “New Info on Chinese Spy Balloon From NORAD Commander Is Jaw-Dropping” HERE)

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U.S. Military Confirms Second Chinese Spy Balloon Is Operational in Sky

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The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed late Friday that it has identified a second Chinese spy balloon that is operating over the Americas right now.

“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.”

Ryder revealed Friday that the spy balloon that is currently operating over the United States, and that the Biden administration has not taken action against, has the ability to maneuver and has changed direction at 60,000 feet.

Ryder would not say how the balloon could be maneuvered and refused to state if the communist Chinese government was in control of the balloon.

“We know that balloon has violated US airspace and international law — which is unacceptable. And we’ve conveyed this directly to the PRC on multiple levels,” he told reporters Friday. “The fact is, we know that it’s a surveillance balloon, and I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that.” (Read more from “U.S. Military Confirms Second Chinese Spy Balloon Is Operational in Sky” HERE)

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Military Experts Give Frank Assessment if U.S. Were to Confront China After Shooting Down Spy Balloon

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The U.S. would face few but significant hurdles if the military were to confront China following a Taiwan invasion, military experts told Fox News Digital.

“Unfortunately, talking broadly and in overall terms, the Chinese have dramatically increased their air, sea, space, cyber and missile capabilities in the last couple of decades,” said James Anderson, acting undersecretary of defense for policy under President Trump.

“In some of the scenarios that could happen, we might well be at a competitive disadvantage initially because they have home-field advantage in terms of their capacity to quickly mobilize local forces, and that’s really important to the PRC.”

Four-star Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan, head of Air Mobility Command, wrote in a memo last week that he believes that the U.S. and China “will fight in 2025,” adding, “I hope I am wrong.” He pointed to the upcoming elections in the U.S. and Taiwan, which he believed could provide a distraction and allow China to make a move on the island.

The general said “a fortified, ready, integrated and agile Joint Force Maneuver Team ready to fight and win inside the first island chain” needs to be established to prepare for the looming fight. (Read more from “Military Experts Give Frank Assessment if U.S. Were to Confront China After Shooting Down Spy Balloon” HERE)

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Montana Officials Deny Viral Midair ‘Explosion’ Video Amid Concerns Over Chinese Spy Balloon

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A viral video depicting what appeared to be an explosion over Billings, Montana Friday night was met both with skepticism and concern amid widespread reports of a Chinese spy balloon flying over the state earlier in the week.

“We’re monitoring the situation. I’m talking to our National Guard to find out if they have additional information,” Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) told Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson in an on-air interview shortly after the video was posted.

Later in the evening, the City of Billings reported on its Twitter account that they confirmed with Montana’s Disaster Emergency Services and Gov. Gianforte that there were no explosions “in, around, or across” the state. In addition, the City of Billings said the video “can not be substantiated.”

The “explosion” video, posted by an account called @MMtTreasures, appeared to show a vertical pillar of white smoke or vapor, a flash of light, and something falling from the sky. In the text accompanying the video, @MMtTreasures also describes seeing a jet and witnessing what she described as an “explosion.”

(Read more from “Montana Officials Deny Viral Midair ‘Explosion’ Video Amid Concerns Over Chinese Spy Balloon” HERE)

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U.S. Military Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon; Senator Says China Sent Balloon to Send ‘a Message’: They Believe U.S. Is ‘in Decline’

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By Townhall. The U.S. military shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon on Saturday as it made its way over the Atlantic Ocean.

Shortly after the government announced the Chinese spy balloon was shot down, President Joe Biden said he authorized the Pentagon to do so days ago.

“I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible,” Biden told reporters on Saturday, adding “they decided without doing any damage to people on the ground they decided that the best time to do that was when it got over water outside within a 12 mile limit.”

Biden continued to claim that he ordered them to shoot down the balloon on Wednesday, adding “they said to me let’s wait for the safest place to do it.”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the president did give him orders to take the balloon down on a few days ago, however, the military decided to wait until the surveillance balloon was no longer a risk to American lives. (Read more from “U.S. Military Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon” HERE)

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Rubio Says China Sent Balloon to Send ‘a Message’: They Believe U.S. Is ‘in Decline’

By ABC News. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that despite China’s claims otherwise, they sent a balloon into the U.S. to send a message about the country’s sway across the globe.

“The key part here is they knew exactly what they were doing and there was a message behind it,” Rubio told ABC “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

“They understood that it [the balloon] was going to be spotted, they knew the U.S. government would have to reveal it, that people were gonna see it over the sky. And the message they were trying to send is what they believe internally, and that is that the United States is a once-great superpower that’s hollowed out, it’s in decline,” Rubio said.

The balloon’s presence over Montana caused the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop for the Billings airport on Wednesday. But U.S. officials only announced the vessel was over the country late Thursday, after it had already flown down from Alaska. The military chose to wait to strike the balloon until the risk to civilians was minimized, defense officials have said. (Read more from “Rubio Says China Sent Balloon to Send ‘a Message’: They Believe U.S. Is ‘in Decline'” HERE)

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