The Biden administration has refused to answer questions regarding the infamous Chinese spy balloon that was detected hovering over Montana in early February. Montana Republican Senator Steve Daines has accused the administration of being more interested in covering up the truth than providing answers.
Even briefings with intelligence officials have left Senator Daines with more questions than answers. On February 9, he posed 10 questions for the Biden administration, including why the balloon was allowed to enter U.S. airspace, how close it got to Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base and missile silos, and what other sensitive national security and military sites it flew over. The questions remain unanswered.
The Chinese balloon traversed nearly the entire continental United States before the Biden administration decided to shoot down the spycraft. Many speculated that the Chinese balloon gathered intelligence from U.S. military sites as it roamed freely across the country from January 28 to February 4 before being shot down in South Carolina.
But despite the Biden administration’s attempt to block its intelligence-gathering efforts, reports this week revealed that the vessel had collected intelligence from several sensitive American military sites. The collected intelligence primarily included electronic signals, which can come from weapons systems or base personnel communications, and Beijing received the information in real-time.
Senator Daines introduced a bill to require a gap analysis of NORAD capabilities following the spy balloon fiasco. This analysis would analyze whether there are any missing components necessary to identify potential threats from foreign aerial objects entering U.S. airspace.
He has accused the Biden administration of being more interested in covering up the truth than ensuring that mistakes like this never happen again.
