Chinese spy balloons under Trump not discovered until after Biden took office

Republicans Sidestep Questions On Chinese Balloons During Trump Years
Story by Sanjana Karanth • Yesterday 2:21 PM

Republicans are criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of a suspected surveillance balloon from China that entered U.S. airspace this past week ― while sidestepping questions about similar incidents happening several times under former President Donald Trump.

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Citing an unidentified senior Pentagon official, the Defense Department said in a statement on Saturday that Chinese balloons “briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.” The Associated Press reported that officials also spoke of another such incident earlier in the Biden administration. None of those four incidents reportedly lasted as long as this week’s, and it has not been confirmed whether the previous balloons were shot down.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republicans-sidestep-questions-on-chinese-balloons-during-trump-years/ar-AA178CBx?li=BBnbfcL

Senior Defense Official and Senior Military Official Hold an Off-Camera, On-Background Press Briefing Update on the High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon
Feb. 4, 2023

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PRC government surveillance balloons transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time. We spoke directly with Chinese officials through multiple channels, but rather than address their intrusion into our airspace, the PRC put out an explanation that lacked any credibility.

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https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3288618/senior-defense-official-and-senior-military-official-hold-an-off-camera-on-back/

3 Navy Warships, FBI Now Hunting for Wreckage of Chinese Spy Balloon off South Carolina

By: Sam LaGrone
February 4, 2023 5:28 PM • Updated: February 4, 2023 6:02 PM

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The Raptor from the 149 Fighter Squadron, based at Langley Air Force Base, used a single AIM-9X Sidewinder, fired from 58,000 feet in the air, to shoot down the balloon that was operating at 62,000 feet, a senior military official told reporters on Saturday afternoon. The remains of the surveillance balloon, about the size of three school buses, is spread over a seven-mile debris field in shallow water in the Atlantic, a senior military official told reporters.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79), guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58) and amphibious warship USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) are on station near the crash site. Coast Guard cutters and boats are also on the scene to assist in the recovery, a message left with a Coast Guard Atlantic Area spokesman was not immediately returned.

Navy divers are currently embarked aboard the warships off the coast, a Navy official confirmed to USNI News. FBI counter-intelligence agents are also part of the investigation, Pentagon officials said Saturday.

“We have… capable Navy divers to go down if needed. We’ll also have unmanned vessels that can go down to get the structure and lift it back up on the recovery ship,” the senior military official said.
“We’ll have the FBI on board as well, under the counterintelligence authorities for categorizing and assessing the platform itself.” According to the same senior military official, a Navy salvage ship will be on station within the next two days.

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https://news.usni.org/2023/02/04/3-navy-warships-fbi-now-hunting-for-wreckage-of-chinese-spy-balloon-off-south-carolina

Marcus Weisgerber
@MarcusReports
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The military jets using the call sign “FRANK” is significant. Frank Luke Jr. was an American fighter ace in World War I better known as the “Arizona Balloon Buster.” He is credited with shooting down 14 German surveillance balloons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Luke
Aircraft Spots
@AircraftSpots
Chinese high-altitude surveillance #balloon:

USAF F-22s FRANK01 & 02 launched from Langley AFB, VA joining up with KC-135R #AE04B3 57-1473 GASMN02 for aerial refueling.
Image
2:42 PM · Feb 4, 2023

Scott Lowe
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Feb 5, 2023
@tropicostation
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A photographer named Michael DeBock got incredible photos of the balloon shootdown yesterday, much better quality than I've seen on twitter. They're on his flickr here, the whole set is excellent:
flickr.com
Chinese Spy Balloon, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 4th, 2023, IMG_0057
I live 4.5 miles from the beach and they waited until it was over the ocean. They wasted no time.
Scott Lowe
@tropicostation
·
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This shot with the F-22, burst balloon envelope and falling payload in frame at once is 🔥
flickr.com
Chinese Spy Balloon, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 4th, 2023, IMG_0067
I live 4.5 miles from the beach and they waited until it was over the ocean. They wasted no time.
5:16 PM · Feb 5, 2023

What was difference this time is a huge question?

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was seen operating near a US nuclear base housing 150 Minuteman ICBMs
Sophia Ankel
Feb 3, 2023, 9:49 AM


A suspected Chinese spy balloon is operating near a sprawling base that houses 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The large and bright unidentified object was seen first flying over Alaska's Aleutian Islands and through Canada before appearing over the city of Billings, Montana.

A senior US defense official told reporters on Thursday there was "very high confidence" the balloon was Chinese and that it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. China later admitted that the balloon belonged to it, but said it was a weather balloon blown off course, and not meant for spying.

Though US officials did not name any potential target sites, or give a precise flight path, Montana is notable for being home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which houses nuclear missiles.

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https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-spy-balloon-us-nuclear-base-minuteman-surveillance-montana-2023-2