CNN : US still working to recover debris from unidentified objects that were shot down, defense secretary says From CNN's Haley Britzky

 US still working to recover debris from unidentified objects that were shot down, defense secretary says

From CNN's Haley Britzky

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday that the US is still working to recover debris from three unidentified objects shot down in North American airspace over the weekend. 

“We’re going to confirm what they are once we’ve collected the debris,” Austin said. “But to answer your question, we’ve not recovered any debris from the three most recent shootdowns.” 

The US military shot down three unidentified objects in as many days over the weekend — two in US airspace, and one in Canadian airspace.

Recovery efforts so far: Austin said Monday that crews have collected “a fair amount of debris” from a Chinese surveillance balloon shot down on Feb. 4, but weather has impacted the search for one object’s debris in Alaska.

Near Lake Huron, Austin said, US Northern Command, the US Coast Guard, and the FBI are ”beginning operations to locate debris in close partnership with the Canadians.”

Austin emphasized that the three objects shot down over the weekend “are very different” from what the US saw traverse the country last week. 

“I want to be clear the three objects taken down this weekend are very different from what we were talking about last week,” he said. “We knew exactly what that was — a (People's Republic of China) PRC surveillance balloon.” 

31 min ago

Defending Canada's sovereignty "has rarely been as important as it is now," prime minister says

From CNN’s Paula Newton and Tanika Gray

Defending Canada’s territorial integrity and sovereignty “has rarely been as important as it is now,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday, speaking about the aerial objects appearing in North American airspace over the last week.

"This is a very serious situation that we are taking incredibly seriously,” Trudeau said. “The actions we're taking to protect North American airspace, the actions we're taking to recover and analyze these objects, the importance of defending our territorial integrity, our sovereignty, has rarely been as important as it is now.”

An unidentified object was shot down over northern Canada on Saturday, marking the third time in a week that US fighter jets have taken down objects.

"I think obviously there is some sort of pattern in there,” Trudeau added. “The fact that we are seeing this in a significant degree over the past week is a cause for interest and close attention, which is exactly what we're doing”

The prime minister said Canada has sent resources to help recover the object and is working with other countries to get more information and solutions.

45 min ago

State Department official denies US has flown surveillance balloons over China: "None. Zero. Period."

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks during a trilateral press availability with Japanese Vice Minister Mori Takeo and Republic of Korea First Vice Minister Cho Hyundong at the Department of the State in Washington, DC, on February 13.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks during a trilateral press availability with Japanese Vice Minister Mori Takeo and Republic of Korea First Vice Minister Cho Hyundong at the Department of the State in Washington, DC, on February 13. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman denied claims from Beijing that the United States has flown surveillance balloons over China.

“There are no US government balloons over the People’s Republic of China. None. Zero. Period,” she said at a news conference at the State Department Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday that the US has "illegally” flown high-altitude balloons into China’s sovereign airspace without Beijing’s consent “more than ten times” since Jan. 2022.

5 min ago

Blinken and China's top diplomat expected to attend security conference this weekend

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s top diplomat Wang Yi are both expected to attend the Munich Security Conference this weekend, presenting the opportunity for the two to meet for the first time since the US downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that entered American airspace.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Monday she was aware of a report of a potential meeting in Munich, Germany, “but I have nothing to announce today.”

“As Secretary Blinken has said consistently, and as he has said to Wang Yi, as we have all said to the PRC, we are open to dialogue when it is in our interest to do so, and when we believe the conditions are right,” she said.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday that there are no current plans for Blinken to meet with any Chinese officials in Munich, but he did not explicitly rule out the possibility and said the US is "always assessing options for diplomacy."

US secretaries of state typically attend the annual meeting, Price did not explicitly confirm that Blinken will travel to the annual summit, saying, “We'll have an opportunity to speak to Secretary Blinken’s potential travel” at a later date.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed Wang’s attendance at the conference but did not mention any potential meeting with Blinken.

US-China tensions: Blinken called off a planned trip to Beijing at the beginning of February due to the presence of the surveillance balloon in US airspace.  

Blinken said he spoke to Wang the day the trip was postponed — and the day before the balloon was shot down — to inform him of the trip’s postponement and tell him that the presence of the balloon was “a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law,” “an irresponsible act, and that the PRC’s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

There have been some conversations between US and Chinese officials since the surveillance balloon was shot down. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese Embassy in Washington both lodged “stern representations” with US officials, which US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson described as Beijing “scrambling to do damage control, rather than credibly address their intrusion into our airspace.”

1 hr 11 min ago

White House: Biden wasn't motivated by political pressures when he ordered downing of high-altitude objects

From CNN's Maegan Vazquez

The White House on Monday denied that President Joe Biden’s recent swift actions to take down high-altitude objects hovering over the American and North American airspace were the result of political pressure, following earlier critiques that he waited too long to make the call to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. 

“These were decisions based purely and simply on what was in the best interest of the American people,” John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said during the White House press briefing Monday. He was responding to a question on whether there’s been a change to the threshold for the use of American fighter jets to take down flying objects.

The US, Kirby argued, is “using established protocols to engage… aircraft in the air that can be legitimately brought down.” 

While other options were considered to take down the objects, including gunfire, the use of air-to-air missiles was determined to be “the safest, most effective" way.

Kirby, however, did not rule out changes to the threshold for escalation in the future, saying that is something officials are still evaluating as they learn more about the objects.

1 hr 43 min ago

National security adviser will lead new "interagency team" to study unidentified aerial objects

From CNN's DJ Judd

In this September 2022 photo, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan talks to reporters during the daily news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC.

In this September 2022 photo, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan talks to reporters during the daily news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden has tapped National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to lead “an interagency team to study the broader policy implications for detection, analysis, and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks,” national security spokesperson John Kirby said Monday.

The group — which includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines — is tasked with engaging “their relevant counterparts to share information and to try to gain their perspectives as well,” while the administration will brief members of Congress and local officials in the meantime, Kirby said.

Kirby, who is the White House national security coordinator for strategic communications, also said none of the three most recent objects shot down posed a threat to people on the ground, were not sending communications signals, showed no signs of “maneuvering or had any propulsion capabilities,” and were not manned.

All three missions to shoot them down were completed “successfully and safely” and recovery efforts are underway, though the administration acknowledged all three objects were shot down “in pretty remote terrain — ice and wilderness,” which have complicated reconnaissance efforts.

1 hr 43 min ago

US officials provide new details on downed objects, including that 2 of them may have some sort of payload

From CNN's Oren Liebermann, MJ Lee, Phil Mattingly, Natasha Bertrand and Kevin Liptak

United States officials are revealing new details about the objects that were shot down in the last few days.

The US military shot down a high-altitude object over Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon, the Pentagon said. Another unidentified object was shot down over northern Canada on Saturday, and on Friday, an unidentified object was shot down in Alaska airspace.

All three objects looked different, according to two US officials. One official said they were approximately the same size. Two officials said none of the three objects were believed to have had propulsion, though the wreckage still needs to be examined to be sure. 

“I'm not able to categorize how they stay aloft. It could be a gaseous type of balloon inside a structure or it could be some type of propulsion system. But clearly, they're able to stay aloft," NORAD Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck said Sunday.

Multiple officials said the objects shot down in Alaska and over Canada were believed to have had payloads, meaning that something is being carried by the object.

Here's what we now know about the objects:

Off the coast of northern Alaska: It was described as a metallic object that broke into several pieces when it impacted the sea ice, according to multiple US officials. That suggests it may have had some sort of structure to it, but officials won't know for sure until the object is recovered.

Over Lake Huron: CNN reported on Sunday that the most recent object shot down over Lake Huron was “octagonal” in shape with strings hanging off and no discernible payload, according to a senior administration official. It was traveling at 20,000 feet when it was shot down, the Pentagon said Sunday.

Over northern Canada: The object shot down over the Yukon territory in Canada appeared to be a balloon with a metal payload hanging underneath, according to the officials. The object was also traveling at 40,000 feet, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Saturday. She went on to describe the object as a “cylindrical object” smaller than the Chinese surveillance balloon that was downed off the coast of South Carolina one week earlier.

The preliminary descriptions of the objects' appearances underscore the difficulty for administration officials in identifying their purpose or origin. Officials have been at a loss to say what the objects could be, and the preliminary descriptions have not lent any more clarity.

Officials have taken pains to distinguish the three objects shot down over the last three days and the Chinese balloon shot down over the Atlantic Ocean. The three later objects were all smaller in size and flying at a much lower altitude.

2 hr 11 min ago

White House: Enhanced radar capabilities may partially explain increase of detected objects in US airspace 

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby. (Pool)

The White House said Monday that recent "enhanced radar capabilities" may partially explain why more objects have been detected in the US airspace.

John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, explained during a White House press briefing that since the Chinese balloon program's "recent incursion into our airspace the United States and Canada — through (North American Aerospace Command) NORAD — have been more closely scrutinizing that airspace, including enhancing our radar capabilities."

The White House official said that it's difficult for radar to pick up small objects, including one the size of the Chinese balloon on radar and that there are also non-military objects that are used in US airspace for scientific purposes.

On the objects that were shot down over the weekend Kirby added, "Because we have not been able to definitively assess what these most recent objects are, we acted out of an abundance of caution to protect the security, our security, our interests, and flight safety."

2 hr 18 min ago

White House makes clear there's no indication downed objects are "of aliens or extraterrestrial activity"

From CNN's Betsy Klein

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre kicked off Monday’s press briefing by clarifying that the US is not concerned about alien or extraterrestrial life as it pertains to the takedown of multiple airborne objects in recent days.  

“I just wanted to make sure we address this from the White House: I know there have been questions and concerns about this but there is no again no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns,” Jean-Pierre said.

She added, “I wanted to make sure that the American people knew that all of you knew that. And it was important for us to say that from here because we've been hearing a lot about it,” prompting laughter from reporters in the briefing room. 

She joked that she “loved ET, the movie,” before handing the podium to National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby. 

The US is still working to determine the nature and purpose of flying objects that have recently been downed.

1 hr 7 min ago

Chinese spy balloon was part of larger intelligence-gathering program, White House says

A jet flies by a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floats off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina on February 4, 2023.

A jet flies by a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floats off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina on February 4, 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters)

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over United States airspace last week provided "limited" intelligence to China.

He said the craft was part of the People's Republic of China high-altitude balloon program for intelligence gathering.

"We assessed that at this time, these balloons have provided limited additive capabilities to the PRC's other intelligence platforms used over the United States," he said at a White House press briefing Monday.

"But in the future, if the PRC continues to advance this technology, it certainly could become more valuable to them," he added.

Kirby said the Chinese balloon program was operating during the Trump administration, but the objects were not detected then. Moving forward, the US is working to better understand and track these intelligence assets.

Kirby said efforts are underway to recover debris from the trio of smaller, lower high-altitude objects shot down off the coast of Alaska, over Canada, and over Lake Huron over the weekend, which, in contrast with last weekend’s Chinese surveillance balloon, were flying low enough to pose a threat to civilian air traffic.

“We are laser focused on confirming their nature and purpose, including through intensive efforts to collect debris in the remote locations where they have fallen,” Kirby said.

“In each instance, we have followed the same basic course — we assessed whether they posed any kinetic threat to people on the ground-- they did not. We assessed whether they were sending any communication signals — we detected none. We looked to see whether they were maneuvering or had any propulsion capabilities —we saw no signs of that. And we made sure to determine whether or not they were manned or not.”

All three missions were completed “successfully and safely,” and recovery efforts are underway, though the administration acknowledged all three objects were shot down “in pretty remote terrain—ice and wilderness,” which have complicated reconnaissance efforts.

CNN's DJ Judd contributed reporting to this post.

2 hr 30 min ago

NOW: White House holds press briefing 

From CNN staff

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby. (Pool)

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is holding a press briefing alongside John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications.

Kirby's appearance during the briefing comes a day after the Pentagon said a US F-16 fighter jet shot down another airborne object over Lake Huron at the direction of President Joe Biden, marking the third time in a week that US fighter jets have taken down objects in North American airspace.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have urged the Biden administration to provide more details about the objects. All senators will get a classified briefing Wednesday on China, according to a Senate aide.

3 hr 22 min ago

Sen. Schumer says intelligence agencies are "getting new evidence every hour" on suspected spy balloon

From CNN's Ali Zaslav

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday that intelligence agencies are “getting new evidence every hour” on the suspected Chinese spy balloon as they examine pieces of it that were collected.

In an interview on "The View" on Monday morning, he added that senators will learn a lot more information at their all-Senate briefing on Wednesday.

Schumer said the US military and intelligence agencies are “focused like a laser" on figuring out what happened and coming up with a plan to deal with this particular balloon and any other assets in the future.

Schumer reiterated he’s supportive of a bipartisan Senate investigation into “why we didn’t know” about the balloons sooner. 

3 hr 16 min ago

A timeline of when the unidentified objects were shot down in North American airspace

From CNN's staff

A high-altitude object was shot down near Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon, marking the fourth time in just over a week that the US military has taken down objects in North American airspace. Here's a timeline of all the objects that we know about:

Last weekend: A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was taken down by F-22s off the coast of South Carolina.

Friday: An unidentified object was shot down in Alaska airspace by a US F-22.

Saturday: Another unidentified object was shot down by US fighter jets over northern Canada on Saturday.

Sunday: The US military shot down another high altitude object over Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon, the Pentagon said.

Here's a look at where the objects were shot down:

3 hr 42 min ago

Why these unidentified objects are being spotted now

Analysis by Paul LeBlanc

A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, on February 1. 

A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, on February 1. (Chase Doak/Reuters)

The US intelligence community’s method to track China’s fleet of surveillance balloons was only discovered within the last year, six people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The findings have allowed the US to develop a consistent technical method for the first time, which they have used to track the balloons in near-real time across the globe, the sources said.

The revelation that the intelligence community only within the last year developed a reliable way to track China’s balloon fleet – which officials now say has flown dozens of missions worldwide – helps explain why Trump administration officials have stridently claimed to have had no knowledge of the three alleged flights over US territory during the former president’s time in office.

In other words, it’s possible that it’s not so much the objects that are new, but our ability to track them.

And, as CNN’s Natasha Bertrand reported Sunday, NORAD command recently readjusted its filters to better spot slow-moving targets operating above a certain altitude.

“In light of the People’s Republic of China balloon that we took down last Saturday, we have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase in objects that we detected over the past week,” Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, Melissa Dalton said.

China has accused the US of “illegally” flying high-altitude balloons into its airspace more than 10 times since January 2022. The White House responded to those claims by saying the allegation is false.

“Any claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over the PRC is false. It is China that has a high-altitude surveillance balloon program for intelligence collection, that it has used to violate the sovereignty of the US and over 40 countries across 5 continents,” a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, wrote on Twitter.

2 hr 46 min ago

An airborne object over Lake Huron on Sunday was the latest to be downed by a US fighter jet

From CNN's Oren Liebermann, Kylie Atwood, Natasha Bertrand, Arlette Saenz, Phil Mattingly and Haley Britzky

A US F-16 fighter jet shot down another airborne object over Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon at the direction of President Joe Biden, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the object was not assessed to be a military threat, but it was a flight hazard.

“We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more,” Ryder said.

Melissa Dalton, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, echoed that sentiment Sunday night, telling reporters the objects were taken down out of an “abundance of caution.”

She added that high-altitude objects can be used by a range of companies, countries, and research organizations for “purposes that are not nefarious, including legitimate research.”

The operation marks the third day in a row that an unidentified object was shot down over North American airspace. An unidentified object was shot down over northern Canada on Saturday. On Friday, an unidentified object was shot down in Alaska airspace by a US F-22.

Ryder said the object shot down Sunday was the same one that radar detected on Saturday over Montana that caused airspace to briefly close in the evening.

The object was flying at 20,000 feet over Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a senior administration official told CNN on Sunday. It was “octagonal” with strings hanging off and no discernible payload, according to the official and another source briefed on the matter.

The path of the object and its altitude raised concerns that it could pose a threat to civilian aircraft, but it did not pose a military threat to anyone on the ground, the official said.

Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said Sunday that the operation to down the object over Lake Huron was carried out by pilots from the US Air Force and the National Guard.

CNN’s Hannah Sarisohn, Aaron Pellish and Jack Forrest contributed to this report.

3 hr 57 min ago

Full Senate will get briefed Wednesday on China

From CNN's Manu Raju

All senators will get a classified briefed this Wednesday on China, according to a Senate aide. Senators were also briefed last week on China.

The briefings come as many questions remain about a string of unidentified objects that were shot down over North American airspace this weekend after a Chinese surveillance balloon was taken down by F-22s off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month.

3 hr 58 min ago

Chinese surveillance balloons have been spotted in the Middle East in the past, US Air Force general says

From CNN's Haley Britzky

In this file photo provided by the US Air Force, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich delivers a commemorative speech during a change of command ceremony at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on Thursday, July 21, 2022.

In this file photo provided by the US Air Force, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich delivers a commemorative speech during a change of command ceremony at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on Thursday, July 21, 2022. (Staff Sgt. Draeke Layman/US Air Force/AP)

Chinese surveillance balloons have been spotted in the Middle East over the last few years, the commander of US Air Forces Central said on Monday.

“We have seen surveillance balloons in the AOR … they did not go anywhere near our sensitive sites but we have seen them in the past transiting through the region,” Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich told reporters at an event at the Center for New American Security (CNAS), adding that the ones he knew of were Chinese balloons.

“I’m actually interested in getting some of those very high-altitude balloons for surveillance purposes to get a more persistent stare on some of the places where we don’t see as well as we can,” he added. “They haven’t been a threat to us but we’ve certainly observed them.” 

Grynkewich’s comments come after an eventful weekend as the US shot down three unidentified objects in North American airspace in as many days, following the takedown of a Chinese surveillance balloon the week prior. Officials were cautious to not characterize the objects as balloons, saying they were waiting to learn more after the debris was recovered.

The balloons spotted in the Middle East never hung out over Americans bases, Grynkewich said, recalling the latest instance in which a balloon “primarily stayed out over the water.” There’s “no regular pattern to it,” he said, adding that there was roughly three instances he could recall over the last few years.

He declined to go into detail about the latest event, which he said happened in the fall of 2022.

“[W]e’re not sure if it was a weather balloon or some sort of a surveillance balloon, we never got up close, it was never a threat. We never had to go inspect it and get a visual and identification of it,” he said.

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