2023 Chinese balloon incident

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2023 Chinese balloon incident
The balloon over Billings, Montana
DateJanuary 28 – February 4, 2023 (2023-01-28 – 2023-02-04)
LocationAirspace over the United States, Canada, Latin America, and territorial waters
TypeDiplomatic incident
CauseChinese balloons entering foreign airspace
MotiveUnited States and Canada allege reconnaissance; China claims meteorology and force majeure due to westerlies
OutcomeBalloon was downed by missile fired by U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor jet from Langley Air Force Base

From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a large, white high-altitude balloon of Chinese origin crossed North American airspace, passing over Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States. The American and Canadian militaries said that the balloon was a surveillance device, while the Chinese government insisted it was a civilian meterological research airship blown off course.[1] The balloon passed over Montana by February 1 and Missouri by February 3 before being shot down the next day by the U.S. Air Force over territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina, on orders from U.S. President Joe Biden.[2] The explosion was caught on camera by bystanders.

The incident added fresh strains in relations between the United States and China, causing United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly postpone an imminent diplomatic visit to Beijing.[1][3][4][5] It also further strained Canada–China relations as it caused Canada to summon China's ambassador to the country.[6] One U.S. official stated that at least three previous such balloons had entered U.S. airspace during the presidency of Donald Trump,[3] although no details were provided. On February 3, U.S. officials said a second Chinese surveillance balloon was passing over Latin America.[7]

Background

Further information: History of military ballooning

History of surveillance balloons

The use of surveillance balloons as a military technology dates to the 19th and 20th centuries, when they were employed by various militaries, including the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War.[8] Despite being rendered mostly obsolete by the advent of maneuverable and stealthy surveillance satellites and drones, balloons retained some advantages, such as a lower cost of production and deployment.[8][9]

Technology used by China

As of 2021, China's fleet of intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) satellites had over 260 systems, second only to the United States.[8] During the 2023 incident, a U.S. defense official stated that the surveillance balloon had "limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective" while security analysts said such balloons still retained certain operational advantages over ISTAR satellites. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. military was able to collect valuable intelligence on the balloon while it was transiting North America.[8][10]

Previous sightings

According to United States defense officials, there have been several instances of Chinese balloons, suspected of surveillance activity, entering United States airspace in recent years in Florida, Guam, and Hawaii;[11][12][3] in such instances China was able to recover the balloons, and none of the incursions persisted for as long as the 2023 incident, which overflew the North American continent coast to coast. Of these recent incidents, three of them occurred during the presidency of Donald Trump, according to an unspecified senior U.S. defense official;[13] Trump and former officials in his administration denied this.[14]

In 2020, a similar balloon was sighted in Sendai, Japan, which at the time was not identified as being of Chinese origin.[15][16] In February 2022, several balloons were spotted off the coast of Taiwan, which the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China noted are likely for meteorological observations for the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army and posed no immediate security threat.[17]

Incident

Comparison with the estimated size of the balloon

The balloon carried an underslung payload described as a "technology bay" estimated to be the size of "two or three school buses"; it was powered by solar panels mounted on the payload.[a] The envelope of the balloon itself is "much larger", according to a U.S. official cited by CBS News.[11] The same official described the craft as featuring a rudder for limited steering. Years earlier in Japan, a balloon of a cross-type payload bay was reported, adding two propellers mounted on the side of the chassis, possibly for more controllability.[16]

Detection

On February 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Canadian Department of National Defence announced that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon believed to belong to China.[18][19] The balloon was then flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) over the northern U.S., and the Department of Defense said that the balloon did not pose a threat to civil aviation or people on the ground.[20][21] According to national security and aerospace experts cited by The Washington Post, the balloon shares characteristics with other high-altitude balloons used by other nations for meteorology, telecommunications, and research.[22]

A map of the world, showing a snaking line from the middle of China, across the Pacific Ocean, through Alaska and Canada, and into the northwestern United States
Possible route of the balloon[23]

According to the United States, the balloon entered its airspace above the Aleutian Islands on January 28, and entered Canadian airspace above the Northwest Territories on January 30.[3] The balloon then crossed into the U.S. in northern Idaho on January 31 and Montana on February 1,[3] where it was spotted over Billings.[19][20] Montana is the location of multiple nuclear missile installations, including Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of three U.S. Air Force bases from which intercontinental ballistic missiles are operated, raising suspicions that the balloon had been launched to surveil said nuclear installations.[19] A meteorological researcher calculated a possible trajectory along this path using the HYSPLIT atmospheric model, consistent with data on prevailing westerlies from China to Montana.[23] The balloon was spotted above northwest Missouri, near Kansas City, on February 3.[20]

On February 3, the U.S. Department of Defense stated that a second Chinese surveillance balloon was flying over Latin America.[24] Unconfirmed sightings of the balloon were reported from Venezuela and Costa Rica,[25][26][27] while the Colombian Air Force said that on the morning of February 3 it had detected an object "similar to a balloon" at a height of 55,000 feet (17,000 m) and traveling at a speed of 25 knots (46 kilometers per hour; 29 miles per hour) and that it had continued to track it until it left Colombian airspace.[28]

Downing

On February 4, the balloon drifted to the Carolinas.[29] The FAA closed airspace over the area.[30] A ground stop was ordered on the coast at Myrtle Beach International Airport, Charleston International Airport, and Wilmington International Airport.[31][32] Military aircraft were reported to be over the Carolinas.[33] U.S. officials later stated that this was in preparation for the eventual downing of the balloon over the Atlantic.[3]

According to the U.S. military, the balloon was successfully shot down by a single AIM-9X air-to-air missile, fired from a F-22 Raptor off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, at 2:39 PM local time.[34] The shootdown was the first kill recorded by an F-22 aircraft, and was speculated to be the highest-altitude air-to-air kill in history.[b][35]

External video
image icon HD video of the shootdown
  • An F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft tracking the balloon on February 4, 2023
    An F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft tracking the balloon on February 4, 2023
  • Video of the downing by an F-22

Debris recovery

The debris from the balloon was dispersed over an area of seven square miles (18 square kilometers), and collection efforts were initiated for further inspection.[36]

Response

United States

External videos
U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder during the press briefing
video icon Defense Department Briefing, February 3, 2023, C-SPAN

American defense officials considered shooting the balloon down but initially decided not to due to the risk of debris injuring civilians on the ground.[37] A meeting was convened between U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, NORTHCOM/NORAD Commander General Glen D. VanHerck, and other military commanders.[18] Biden was advised by officials not to shoot it down because debris could hit people on the ground.[18] The balloon was monitored by manned aircraft sent by NORAD, including the early warning aircraft Boeing E-3 Sentry (commonly known as AWACS), a reconnaissance RC-135 from Nellis Air Force Base,[37] and F-22 Raptor aircraft from Langley Air Force Base.[38] Blinken postponed his scheduled diplomatic trip to China in response.[1][4][5][3]

In response to questions regarding the situation, on February 4, Biden stated that the U.S. would "take care of it."[39] Later that day, U.S. officials disclosed that three days earlier he had granted permission to down the balloon.[3] At 2:39 PM local time, the balloon was downed by two F-22 fighter jets using an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile,[38][40] with the United States announcing that it will recover and analyze the remnants that splashed down in the Atlantic.[3] The guided-missile destroyer USS Oscar Austin (DDG-79), guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), and amphibious warship USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) were tasked with retrieving the balloon wreckage alongside assistance from U.S. Coast Guard cutters and helicopters, U.S. Navy divers, and FBI counterintelligence agents.[41][42]

Canada

Canadian officials and Global Affairs Canada summoned the Chinese Ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, to Ottawa and the Department of National Defence announced it was monitoring the situation alongside the United States through NORAD.[43][44] A statement from the Canadian Armed Forces said there was no threat to Canadians, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly would remain in contact with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken.[45]

China

A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning said: "It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course."[5] They regretted the incident as unintended, citing force majeure.[46]

The state-controlled China Daily newspaper said: "To spy on the U.S. with a balloon, one must both fall far behind to use a 1940s technology and be advanced enough to control its flight across the ocean. Those fabricating the lie are only exposing their ignorance."[37]

Following the downing, the Chinese government issued a statement that it will protect the legitimate interests of the relevant enterprises, and reserve the right to take further actions, whilst criticizing the United States for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."[3]

Venezuela

President Nicolás Maduro's administration echoed Chinese comments, claiming the United States shot down a nonintrusive civilian aircraft.[47]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Sources citing the defense official who gave the estimate did not identify what size of a bus was referenced. Lengths of U.S. school buses vary but range from 40–45 feet (12–14 m).[citation needed]
  2. ^ Excluding the ASM-135 used to destroy an orbiting satellite in 1985, which may be considered an air-to-space kill.

References

  1. ^ a b c Lee, Matthew (February 4, 2023). "Chinese balloon soars across US; Blinken scraps Beijing trip". Associated Press. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  2. ^ Brown, Matthew; Pollard, James (February 5, 2023). "Eyes on the sky as Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Miller, Zeke; Balsamo, Michael; Long, Colleen; Madhani, Aamer; Baldor, Lolita C. (February 5, 2023). "US downs Chinese balloon, drawing a threat from China". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Cadell, Cate; Hudson, John; Abutaleb, Yasmeen. "Blinken postpones China trip as suspected spy balloon detected over U.S.". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Hansler, Jennifer; Liptak, Kevin; Herb, Jeremy; Atwood, Kylie; Sciutto, Kylie; Liebermann, Oren (February 3, 2023). "Blinken postpones trip to Beijing after Chinese spy balloon spotted over US, officials say". CNN. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
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  24. ^ Gregorian, Dareh; Kube, Courtney; Gains, Mosheh; Richards, Zoë. "Another Chinese 'surveillance balloon' is flying over Latin America, Pentagon says". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
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  38. ^ a b Cooper, Helene; Wong, Edward (February 4, 2023). "U.S. Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off the Coast of the Carolinas". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  39. ^ Hutzler, Alexandra; Cathey, Libby; Deliso, Meredith; Guerilus, Stephanie (February 4, 2023). "Chinese balloon live updates: 'We're going to take care of it,' Biden says". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
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  47. ^ "Venezuela Condemns Washington for Shooting Down Chinese Balloon". Bloomberg News. February 5, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.

External links

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