The military had not identified earlier spy balloons before the one that arrived over the United States on January 28. A top U.S. general in charge of shooting down a Chinese spy balloon dubbed it an “awareness gap” on Monday.
Chinese spy balloons have briefly flown over the United States at least three times during President Donald Trump’s administration and once before, according to the Pentagon’s report over the weekend. General Glen VanHerck of the U.S. Air Force The most recent balloon, according to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Northern Command, was 200 feet (60 meters) tall, and the cargo it carried weighed a few thousand pounds. The Pentagon informed Republican Representative Michael Waltz, a member of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, that multiple Chinese balloon mishaps had occurred in recent years, including some over Florida.
