Have you heard about the mysterious Chinese surveillance balloon shot down by the U.S. military this past weekend? It has been the talk of the town and has caused quite a stir. This blog post will provide a summary of the research that has gone into this event and why it is important to know about it.
On Monday, Navy vessels were sent to recover pieces of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina. A Navy dock landing ship, the USS Carter Hall, is in the vicinity of where the balloon splashed down and is currently collecting and categorizing debris. An oceanographic survey ship, USNS Pathfinder, is mapping out the balloon’s debris field, predicted at about 1,500 meters by 1,500 meters. An explosive ordnance disposal team was on-site Monday morning, as the military was worried that material on the balloon could contain explosives or be hazardous.
FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents are also working with U.S. forces on the salvage operations. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that recovering the balloon will take time but that “we can then exploit what we recover and learn even more than we have learned.”
President Biden has since faced intense criticism from Republicans, who said he acted too slowly to shoot down the balloon. It has since been revealed that Chinese surveillance balloons had crossed over the U.S. at least three times during the Trump administration.
Gen. Glen VanHerck noted that the balloon was up to 200 feet tall and was carrying a device that was roughly the size of a regional jet that likely weighed about 1,000 pounds. This payload made shooting down the balloon complicated, as officials had to ensure that there was no air traffic nearby at the time of the operation.
This blog post has provided a summary of the research that has gone into the mysterious Chinese surveillance balloon shot down by the U.S. military this past weekend. It is important to know about this event, as it has caused quite a stir and has revealed some interesting facts about the balloon and the U.S. military’s response to it.
Source: thehill.com