China’s Balloon May Have Taught the US More Than Beijing Learned From It, General Says
Still, NORAD’s chief says the U.S. military took “precautions,” including “non-kinetic effects.”
PATRICK TUCKER | FEBRUARY 6, 2023
CHINA MISSILES INTELLIGENCE DRONES
The recently-downed Chinese spy balloon may have sent more useful information to the Pentagon than to Beijing, U.S. military officials said Monday.
The weather balloon presented “a potential opportunity for us to collect intel where we had gaps on prior balloons,” and that could help NORAD more quickly detect future spy attempts, NORAD and NORTHCOM head Gen. Glen David VanHerck told reporters at the Pentagon.
Both the Pentagon and U.S. President Joe Biden drew much online outrage as they waited to fire on the balloon until it had safely passed over the United States and moved over open ocean.
On Monday, VanHerck reiterated what other officials said last week: the sensor package on the balloon offered China no better intelligence capabilities than their satellites and other means already possess.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/02/chinas-balloon-may-have-taught-pentagon-more-beijing-learned-it-general-says/382642/
