NORAD detected China's surveillance balloon before it reached the coast of Alaska, but “could not” take action to shoot it down because it was not obviously hostile.
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, on Saturday, Feb. 4.
"We utilized multiple capabilities to ensure we collected and utilized the opportunity to close intel gaps," VanHerck responded."I would point out, and I think it's important to talk about it. Day to day, we do not have the authority to collect intelligence within the United States of America. In this case, specific authorities were granted to collect intelligence against the balloon specifically, and we utilize specific capabilities to do that.
The White House said on Friday President Joe Biden would not shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon, despite calls from lawmakers and others.
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