 Defense &
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Defense &
National Security |
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Questions linger over latest objects shot down in US |
Three more objects were shot down by the U.S. military over the weekend. While officials have disclosed some info about them, there are still major gaps in what the government has learned and communicated publicly. |
The latest aerial downing came roughly one week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina, days after it was first reported to be hovering over the continental United States. The first object, which was shot down from 40,000 feet over Alaska on Friday, Feb. 10, was downed after President Biden gave the order. The second object was shot down on Saturday in northern Canada after Prime Minster Justin Trudeau green-lit the mission and Biden authorized fighter jets to fly into Canada. The third object, labeled an "unidentified aircraft," was downed via a F-16 fighter jet Sunday over Lake Huron after initially being spotted Saturday in Montana. The White House on Monday said the uncertainty of the surveillance capabilities of the three objects led to Biden's orders for the military to shoot them all down. "We don't think — we don't know for sure whether they had a surveillance aspect to them, but we can't rule it out. So, there was a little bit, there was enough uncertainty there that again, out of an abundance of caution, doing the prudent thing, the president directed that they get taken down," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Kirby also said that Biden will establish an interagency team to look into unidentified objects in U.S. airspace. We have a skimmable list of what we do and don't know about the incidents in the full report at thehill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, we're Ellen Mitchell and Brad Dress — your guides to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
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Frustration on Capitol Hill is mounting after a string of aerial objects were shot down over U.S. and Canadian airspace in the last few days, raising a long list of questions that lawmakers say President Biden should publicly address. Three unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have been shot down over North America since Friday, and the Pentagon has provided little information on what the objects were or where they came … |
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| Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cited the flight pattern of the three objects that were shot down over the U.S. and Canada in the last few days as one reason the Biden administration decided to down them. "We don't know if they were actually collecting intelligence, but because of the route that they took, out of an abundance of caution, we want to make sure that we have the ability to examine what these things are and potentially … |
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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) says President Biden needs to explain to the American public what U.S. fighter jets shot down over Alaska, Canada and Michigan in recent days, which the military has only vaguely referred to as "objects." "The president owes the American people an explanation, direct and on camera, of what we know about these 'objects' and what steps he's taking to protect America's sovereign airspace," Cotton … |
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Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is exploring an idea to hold a House hearing that would involve lawmakers participating in a “wargaming” scenario of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Gallagher, the chairman of the newly created House Select Committee on China, said it would help showcase the importance of the self-governing island nation of Taiwan. “We're exploring options where we could do creative wargaming that … |
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Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: |
- Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Brussels, Belgium for a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group followed by the beginning of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO Headquarters.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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Georgia judge orders limited release of grand jury report on Trump election interference |
A Georgia judge on Monday ordered the release of limited portions of a report from a grand jury tasked with reviewing election interference in 2020 as former President Trump sought to reverse his loss in the state. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who is overseeing the grand jury's … |
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Events in and around the defense world: |
- Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston will speak at an Association of the U.S. Army Coffee Series at 6:30 a.m.
- The Hudson Institute will host a discussion on "Preparing for the Dissolution of the Russian Federation" at 9 a.m.
- Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency Director Bill Lietzau will speak on foreign intelligence threats to critical U.S. technologies at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance at 9 a.m.
- The Atlantic Council will host a virtual discussion on "What does Ukraine need to win in 2023?" with former Supreme Allied Commander Europe Army Gen. Wesley Clark, former Canadian Defense Staff Chief Gen. Rick Hillier and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, former CIA director, at 10 a.m.
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for space policy John Plumb will speak at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies at 10 a.m.
- Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) will speak at a Hudson Institute virtual event on "Securing Cyberspace: Hardening America's Software against Foreign Digital Sabotage" at 10 a.m.
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News we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Expect Pentagon's Cyber-Worker Strategy 'Any Day Now' (DefenseOne)
- This is why Jan. 6 Defense Department Army texts weren't preserved (Military Times)
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called for the Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton to step down or be removed by President Biden, adding … Read more |
| The U.S. on Monday issued a top-level advisory telling American citizens to leave Russia immediately and cease travel to the country as Russia's war … Read more |
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Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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