![]() ![]() Some American officials say they know the intended trajectory of the spy balloon in part because the U.S. Or they might have decided to allow the balloon to continue onward to see what kinds of intelligence it could collect - not foreseeing the diplomatic and political maelstrom that would ensue once the balloon drifted with the winds to the continental United States. Operators or officials might have mistimed the winds and thought currents would carry the balloon quickly over Alaska and out of American airspace to the Arctic Ocean. Chinese operators may not have wanted to destroy the balloon it is also possible that they attempted to trigger the self-destruct mechanism and it failed. 28, when the balloon approached the Aleutian Islands and American airspace over Alaska in its off-course trajectory, the balloon’s self-destruct function did not activate, U.S. analysts trying to read Chinese intentions. officials were intent on getting their hands on it to study its sensors, even if they would end up examining only debris resulting from a missile strike.Īn F-22 fighter jet shot the balloon down with a single missile hours later, on the afternoon of Feb. ![]() counterparts that the controllers of the balloon were trying to speed it out of American airspace, an apparent effort to defuse tensions that baffled Biden administration officials and demonstrated how badly Beijing had misread the United States.īy that point, the balloon was reaching the coastline, the American public and politicians had expressed fury over it for days - some criticizing President Biden for not shooting it down immediately - and U.S. It took almost three days after the public crisis over the balloon erupted for Chinese officials to tell U.S. American officials discussed those revelations on the condition of anonymity because of sensitivities over intelligence and diplomacy.Ĭhinese officials did nothing about the balloon as it passed over the continental United States - including above nuclear missile silos in Montana - for days after senior American diplomats first confronted Chinese officials in private over it. Some senior officials said that based on preliminary work, they believe the three objects were likely designed for scientific or weather research and had ceased to function, becoming akin to airborne trash.īut the fallout from the spy balloon itself continues to escalate tensions between the United States and China even as new revelations around the episode reveal the depths of confusion over it. officials said they are still trying to make a definitive conclusion on what the objects were, and do not think they will reach one until more debris is collected. officials said in interviews on Wednesday that they now increasingly believe three unidentified flying objects shot down over North America were unlikely to be surveillance devices. In another example of the fog created by superpower rivalry and political imperatives, U.S. reaction by Chinese officials in private meetings reflect how difficult it is for the United States and China to discern each other’s intentions - a gap that American officials fear could lead to greater mistrust in an already fraught relationship or even to armed conflict. The evolution of Washington’s understanding of the Chinese military’s original goals and new details that reveal misreadings of the U.S. ![]() military bases in Guam and Hawaii, but winds carried it off course to Alaska, Canada and finally the United States mainland. WASHINGTON - Senior American officials increasingly believe the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina in early February was originally supposed to conduct surveillance over U.S. ![]()
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