As the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) adjusts its radar system to make it more sensitive and is picking up more balloons that have floated over the US recently, some officials have said, "After spy balloons that may have come from China or other foreign powers. Detection capability testing could be the goal.”
US officials have theorized about the recent spike in air balloon incidents that "the objects were sent by China or other powers to learn more about US radar or early warning systems."
A senior administration official said: “In theory China or Russia sent stuff to test America’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, they would be sent to learn how quickly the U.S. recognizes an intrusion and how quickly the military can respond to such an intrusion. I can,” he told the New York Times on the 12th.
U.S. officials said it was unclear whether China had full control of the balloon during its entire operation.
“The Chinese spy balloon is equipped with a self-destruct mechanism, but Beijing has not used it, a potential sign that Chinese officials want to continue gathering information after discovery,” said another government official.
The NYT said, "NORAD is picking up more raids as awareness rises due to outrage over the spy balloon that floated over the US mainland for a week before a Chinese balloon was shot down on the 4th." "We are trying to make sense of three unidentified flying objects shot down by missiles by US warplanes over Michigan, Canada on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of objects detected."
Regarding the object seen approaching Lake Huron, US officials said, “President Biden ordered it to be shot down because it was flying at 20,000 feet and posed a potential threat to civil aviation.” It was attached, but there was no identifiable payload," he said.
A U.S. official said on condition of anonymity, “The Chinese spy balloon is equipped with a self-destruct mechanism, but Beijing has not used it, a potential sign that Chinese officials want to continue gathering information after they are discovered.”
Luis Elizondo, who served until 2017 as the Pentagon's U.F.O. program operations intelligence officer, told the NYT, "For years, our adversaries have been sending low-tech devices over the United States. "What's happening now is that we have low-cost technology being used to harass the United States," he said.
“The object was first spotted over Montana on Saturday, initially sparking debate about whether it exists. Military officials concluded it was unusual as it disappeared after detecting a radar blip over Montana. Then, on Sunday, it showed up in Montana, Wisconsin, and Michigan at one point. After receiving visual confirmation, military officials ordered the F-16 to be shot down over Lake Huron. Over the weekend, officials said officials were still trying to determine what the three objects were. Pentagon officials said the first one was most likely not a balloon and shattered after being shot down on the 10th, the object on the 11th was described by Canadian authorities as cylindrical, and US officials said it was more likely a balloon of some kind , and on the 12th, another official said, 'I don't think it's a balloon.'”
National Aeronautics and Space Force (NORAD) radar tracked the first two objects for at least 12 hours before they were shot down, but the Pentagon did not say whether the objects were picked up by radar before they approached US airspace.
Regarding the incident shot down over Alaska on the 10th by President Biden’s order to shoot down, a Department of Defense official said, “It was shattered when it hit the frozen sea, so it added to the mystery of whether it was actually a balloon, a drone, or something else,” NYT 10 the day said
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted on the 11th, "I have ordered the removal of an unidentified object that has invaded Canadian airspace. He said, “I spoke with President Biden in the afternoon. The Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the remains of the object.”
In a statement on the 11th, the White House said, "President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau discussed the importance of 'retrieving the object to determine details about its purpose or origin'" and formalized the 'recovery-and-substance verification' process. did.
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