CHINESE SPY BALLOON OVER THE US...

AN AEROSPACE EXPERT EXPLAINS, HOW THE BALLOONS WORK AND WHAT THEY CAN SEE

The US military shot down what US officials called a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, 2023. Officials said that the US Navy planned to recover the debris, which is in shallow water.

The US and Canada tracked the balloon as it crossed the Aleutian Islands, passed over Western Canada and entered U.S. airspace over Idaho. Officials of the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed on February 2, 2023, that the military was tracking the balloon as it flew over the continental US at an altitude of about 60,000 feet, including over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. The base houses the 341st Missile Wing, which operates nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles.

WHAT DOES BALLOON, WHICH CHINA HAD CONFIRMED MEAN?

The next day, Chinese officials acknowledged that the balloon was theirs but denied it was intended for spying or meant to enter US airspace.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the balloon’s incursion led him to cancel his trip to Beijing. He had been scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on February 5 and 6.

China has complained for many years about the US spying on China through satellites, through ships. And China is also well known for engaging in somewhat provocative behavior, like in the South China Sea, sailing close to other nations’ boundaries and saber-rattling. I think it falls into that category. The balloon doesn’t pose any real threat to the US. I think sometimes China is just experimenting to see how far they can push things. This isn’t really very advanced technology. It’s not serving any real military purpose. I think it’s much more likely some kind of political message.

The Pentagon has reported that a second suspected Chinese balloon was seen over Latin America. On February 4, officials told reporters that a third Chinese surveillance balloon was operating somewhere else in the world, and that the balloons are part of a Chinese military surveillance program.

Monitoring an adversary from a balloon dates back to 1794, when the French used a hot air balloon to track Austrian and Dutch troops in the Battle of Fleurus. We asked aerospace engineer Iain