Multiple Chinese Balloons Infiltrated US

Chinese surveillance balloons brazenly violated American sovereignty over our most sensitive nuclear sites, exposing dangerous gaps in our national defense while the Biden administration hesitated to act decisively.

Story Highlights

February 2023 Chinese spy balloon crossed continental United States, surveilling nuclear ICBM silos in Montana before being shot down off South Carolina
Biden administration delayed interception for days despite balloon hovering over strategic military installations, prioritizing optics over immediate security response
Intelligence reveals multiple prior Chinese balloon incursions occurred undetected in recent years, raising serious questions about airspace monitoring failures
Low-cost balloon technology resurging globally as adversaries exploit cheap surveillance alternatives to expensive satellites and drones

Chinese Espionage Balloon Violates American Airspace

A Chinese surveillance balloon entered United States airspace over Montana on February 1, 2023, immediately halting civilian flights at Billings International Airport as the massive craft loomed overhead. The high-altitude platform drifted southeast across American heartland states including South Dakota and Nebraska for four full days, directly surveilling nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile silos and other critical military infrastructure. President Biden received his first briefing on January 31 and ordered a takedown when feasible, yet the balloon continued its intelligence-gathering mission over sovereign U.S. territory until February 4 when an F-22 Raptor finally destroyed it with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile off South Carolina’s coast at 58,000 feet altitude.

Delayed Response Raises National Security Concerns

Defense officials tracked the balloon from its initial entry through Alaskan airspace in late January, monitoring as it traveled into Canada over the Northwest Territories before re-entering U.S. territory over Idaho on January 31. Despite F-22 fighter jets conducting fly-by operations on February 1, military commanders refused immediate engagement citing civilian safety concerns on the ground below. This multi-day delay allowed Chinese intelligence operatives to complete their surveillance objectives over America’s most sensitive nuclear deterrent facilities. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin only confirmed the People’s Republic of China’s intent to surveil strategic U.S. sites after the balloon was finally neutralized, revealing what many patriots saw as unacceptable hesitation to protect American sovereignty and classified military assets from foreign espionage.

History Reveals Persistent Balloon Warfare Evolution

Military balloon reconnaissance began in 1794 when France’s Aerostatic Corps deployed hydrogen-filled balloons at the Battle of Fleurus for battlefield intelligence gathering. The Union Army Balloon Corps under Thaddeus Lowe pioneered American aerial reconnaissance during the Civil War, using tethered balloons at 1,000 feet to observe Confederate positions at Bull Run through flag signals and telegraph communications. World War I saw peak usage for photography and artillery spotting, while Japan launched over 9,000 incendiary FuGo balloons across the Pacific during World War II targeting American territory via jet stream winds. The Cold War’s secretive Genetrix program deployed hundreds of American photo-reconnaissance balloons disguised as weather research over Soviet Union and Chinese airspace at altitudes between 30,000 and 60,000 feet throughout the 1950s.

Modern Technology Transforms Ancient Surveillance Platform

Today’s surveillance balloons incorporate artificial intelligence navigation systems, advanced sensor packages, and stealth capabilities far exceeding their historical predecessors, creating persistent intelligence platforms at costs dramatically lower than satellites or drone systems. The Pentagon’s COLD STAR project launched in 2019 tested AI-navigating stealth balloons originally designed for drug interdiction operations, now transitioning to full military surveillance applications through contractor Raven Industries. Unlike tethered Civil War observation balloons or weather research platforms, the 2023 Chinese balloon operated as a steerable high-altitude surveillance system at over 60,000 feet with sophisticated sensors specifically targeting American nuclear deterrent facilities during peacetime. Defense officials confirmed this represented not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of multiple prior Chinese balloon overflights occurring in recent years, including during previous administrations, that went largely undetected or unacknowledged.

The Newest Old Tech in Warfare: Balloons

My latest on battlefield innovation — tech from the French Revolution is making a comeback, delivering some of Ukraine’s most audacious deep strikes on Russia.
https://t.co/E0rT3nymTQ

— Heather Somerville (@heathersomervil) February 16, 2026

The recovered sensor wreckage yielded classified intelligence enabling American military analysts to develop improved countermeasures against future balloon incursions. Three additional unidentified aerial objects were rapidly shot down over Alaska, Canada, and Lake Huron in the immediate aftermath as military forces implemented heightened alert protocols. This incident sparked what defense experts describe as a renewed global balloon arms race, with adversaries recognizing these platforms offer extended loiter time for intelligence collection while evading certain defensive systems. The economic advantages of balloon technology compared to sophisticated satellite networks makes them attractive options for nations seeking asymmetric surveillance capabilities against American interests, fundamentally challenging traditional assumptions about modern airspace security and the adequacy of our current defensive posture against low-tech threats to constitutional security.