WASHINGTON — In the wake of a U.S. missile attack Saturday that destroyed a Chinese surveillance balloon, political and diplomatic fallout ramped up Monday in both Beijing and Washington.
The latest Chinese spy balloon is believed to be the fifth Chinese surveillance balloon detected over the continental United States since 2017, John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters on a call Monday.
Three of those balloons crossed into U.S. territory during the Trump administration, and there was one previously during Joe Biden’s presidency. But each of those incursions “was for brief periods of time, nothing at all like what we saw last week.”
Donald Trump and several of his former intelligence chiefs have disputed the idea that surveillance balloons flew over the U.S. during his presidency, saying they were never briefed about anything like this.
Kirby appeared to confirm this Monday, telling reporters that the three breaches were only discovered after Trump left office.
“We have reached out to key officials from the previous administration and offered them briefings on the forensics that we did,” said Kirby, and will “walk them through what we learned.”
Kirby also revealed new information about the balloon itself, including it had propellers.
“This balloon has the ability to maneuver itself, to speed up, or slow down and to turn, so it has propellers … that allow it to to change directions,” he said.
Flying 60,000 feet in the air, the balloon did not have a steering system like a car or a plane, however.
“The presence of propellers does not mean that you don’t still have limited maneuverability,” said Kirby, adding that the propellers were on the top of the balloon. Still, he said, “it has the capability to loiter, and to introduce some limited maneuvers.”
The balloon itself was massive, about 200 feet tall, and the payload attached to it was similar in size to a regional jetliner, weighing more than 2,000 pounds, according to NBC…
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