Topline
U.S. Intelligence officials believe the two latest flying objects shot down over Canada and Alaska this week were also balloons, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday, while calling the downing of the suspected Chinese spy balloon over South Carolina last week “humiliating” for the Chinese government.
US Senator Charles Schumer briefs the media on the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down off the … [+]
Key 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, which dates back to the Trump Administration, “wild” and questioned why Congress only recently learned that three balloons were identified during Trump’s tenure, along with at least two under Biden.
Calling the takedown of the suspected Chinese spy balloon as it hovered off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4 a “huge coup for the United States,” Schumer said the Chinese “were caught lying” when the foreign ministry claimed the balloon was a civilian-operated vessel used for weather research that had been blown off course.
Key Background
U.S. F-22 fighter jets shot down three flying objects over North America in the span of a week, with the most recent incident happening on Saturday afternoon in Canada over the Yukon. On Friday, the military also downed an aircraft that was flying over Alaska. Canadian and U.S. military officials have said they are probing the origins and purposes of the two latest vessels, but have not indicated they are connected to the suspected Chinese spy balloon. That balloon was shot down on Feb. 4, more than two days after it was spotted hovering over Billings, Mont., not far from one of the U.S.’s three nuclear silo fields.
Tangent
Both chambers of Congress received intelligence briefings on the suspected spy balloon last week as lawmakers have called on the Biden Administration to divulge more information about the five balloons discovered during former President Donald Trump’s and Biden’s presidencies. Schumer said Sunday he has “a lot of confidence” in how military and intelligence officials have handled the situations, but said he supports Senate efforts led by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to press the Pentagon for additional details. The House is also seeking more information and unanimously passed a resolution on Friday condemning the Chinese for the suspected spy balloon that also called on the Biden Administration to brief lawmakers regularly as it gathers additional intelligence.
Further Reading
Everything We Know About The ‘High-Altitude Object’ Shot Down Over Alaska (Forbes)
U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Over Atlantic (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/02/12/schumer-two-latest-objects-flying-over-north-america-were-also-balloons-intelligence-officials-believe/