U.S. military releases ‘selfie’ of Chinese spy balloon taken from reconnaissance plane – National | 24CA News
The Pentagon on Wednesday launched the closest look but on the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over Canada and the United States early this month: a photograph taken from the cockpit of a U.S. army plane.
The photograph was snapped by the pilot of a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft on Feb. 3, wanting down on the balloon because it hovered over the Central U.S. The balloon’s payload, believed to be surveillance tools, is clearly seen.
The balloon was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet over the coast of South Carolina the day after the photograph was taken.
A U.S. Air Force pilot regarded down on the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon because it hovered over the Central Continental United States February 3, 2023. Recovery efforts started shortly after the balloon was downed.
(Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense)
The Pentagon confirmed the photograph’s authenticity and launched it to the media after CNN first reported on it.
NORAD, the continental air defence community, started monitoring the balloon because it approached U.S. airspace in late January, the Pentagon mentioned earlier this month. It handed north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land throughout Alaska after which into Canadian airspace.
Canadian defence officers informed MPs final week the surveillance balloon unlawfully entered Canadian airspace between Jan. 30 and 31, crossing via Yukon and central British Columbia earlier than re-entering the U.S. over northern Idaho.
It then continued over Montana, Kansas and different central states earlier than reaching the coast of the Carolinas on Feb. 4.
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The incident prompted NORAD to intently scrutinize North American airspace for indicators of different international airborne objects. That led army jets to shoot down three extra unidentified objects: one over Alaska on Feb. 10, one other over Yukon on Feb. 11, and a 3rd over Lake Huron on Feb. 12.
U.S. intelligence companies imagine the three objects didn’t come from China or are tied to every other international surveillance operation, and are almost certainly “benign” personal industrial or analysis balloons. Search operations for all three objects have been referred to as off resulting from tough climate circumstances.
The Pentagon says groups have recovered vital particles from the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, together with sensors and different reconnaissance tools. That particles is being analyzed to find out what, if any, data was gained as if flew over North America.
Speaking in Vancouver on Wednesday, Defence Minister Anita Anand mentioned Canada is continuous to work “to ensure that we are extracting any data that may be relevant.”
She didn’t say if the seek for the Yukon object might be resumed at any level or speculate on what it could be, however defended the choice to shoot it down.
“Rest assured, our priority from a defence standpoint is the protection of Canada and Canada’s population, and as the shootdown of the suspected balloon over central Yukon exemplified, that will always be our first priority,” she mentioned.
“We will leave no stone unturned to ensure the protection of our country.”
Anand spoke after the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces on Wednesday confirmed they’re conscious of latest efforts by China to conduct surveillance operations in Canadian airspace and waters.
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Spokesperson Daniel Le Bouthillier mentioned in an announcement that the armed forces have tracked and stopped makes an attempt to surveil Canadian territory since 2022 beneath Operation LIMPID. He declined to offer additional data “to ensure the integrity of operations.”
That got here after the Globe and Mail reported the Canadian army had detected Chinese monitoring buoys within the Arctic.
Anand confirmed her division “is aware of the buoys” and that they’ve been extracted from the Arctic waters.
“We are also aware that this type of activity is not new, and will continue to do what is necessary in the protection of our Canadian population, as well as the work our allies are doing,” she mentioned.
She later pointed to efforts to modernize NORAD, which Canada is investing $40 billion in, and affirmed sustaining and strengthening Arctic sovereignty is a prime precedence.
— with information from Aaron D’Andrea and the Canadian Press
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
