Wafting across the United States and into the attention of an alarmed national and global public, a giant Chinese balloon has changed Americans' awareness of all the stuff floating in the air, and how defence officials watch for it and respond. President Joe Biden said Thursday (local time) that the US is updating its guidelines for monitoring and reacting to unknown aerial objects. It comes after the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting the country triggered high-stakes drama, including the US shootdowns of that balloon, and three smaller ones days later. That awareness kicked into overdrive this month, after the US military and then the US public spotted the Chinese balloon floating down from the High North. Post big Chinese balloon, US defence officials are expected to keep up broader monitoring so that balloons remain on the radar, but fine-tune the response.

Source: Stuff February 19, 2023 00:01 UTC