#North American Aerospace Defense Command

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

President Joe Biden ordered the action on Wednesday, but it was delayed until the balloon was over water off the coast of South Carolina to ensure no Americans on the ground were harmed.

"The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters," Austin said.

The action was taken in coordination and support of the Canadian government. "We thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon through [North American Aerospace Defense Command] as it transited North America," Austin said. "Today's deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC's unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," Austin said referring to the Peoples Republic of China.

U.S. officials first detected the balloon and its payload on January 28 when it entered U.S. airspace near the Aleutian Islands. The balloon traversed Alaska, Canada and re-entered U.S. airspace over Idaho. "President Biden asked the military to present options and on Wednesday President Biden gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon's path," said a senior defense official speaking on background. "Military commanders determined that there was undue risk of debris causing harm to civilians while the balloon was overland."

An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon.

The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast in about 47 feet of water. No one was hurt.

Long before the shoot down, U.S. officials took steps to protect against the balloon's collection of sensitive information, mitigating its intelligence value to the Chinese. The senior defense official said the recovery of the balloon will enable U.S. analysts to examine sensitive Chinese equipment. "I would also note that while we took all necessary steps to protect against the PRC surveillance balloon's collection of sensitive information, the surveillance balloon's overflight of U.S. territory was of intelligence value to us," the official said. "I can't go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable."

The balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. Still its intrusion into American airspace over several days was an unacceptable violation of U.S. sovereignty. The official said Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.

While Chinese officials admitted that the balloon was theirs, they said it was a runaway weather balloon. "The PRC has claimed publicly that the high-altitude balloon operating above the United States is a weather balloon that was blown off course. This is false," the official said. "This was a PRC surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites."

The mission now transitions to one of recovery. There are a number of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels establishing a security perimeter around the area where the balloon came to Earth. They are searching for debris, said a senior military official also speaking on background.

There is no estimate for how long the recovery mission will take, the military official said, but the fact that it came down in such a shallow area should make recovery "fairly easy".

The military official gave some detail of the engagement. The F-22 fired the Sidewinder at the balloon from an altitude of 58,000 feet. The balloon at the time was between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.

F-15 Eagles flying from Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, supported the F-22, as did tankers from multiple states including Oregon, Montana, South Carolina and North Carolina. Canadian forces also helped track the overflight of the balloon.

The Navy has deployed the destroyer USS Oscar Austin, the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the USS Carter Hall, an amphibious landing ship in support of the effort.

[rodspurethoughts]

Statement on Today's Actions by North American Aerospace Defense Command

Statement on today’s actions by NORAD attributed to Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder: “Following a call between the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the United States, President Biden authorized U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to work with Canada to take down a high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada today.…

[anirobot]

NOTE: Santa doesn't need more speed! Santa Claus can duplicate himself, and there are Vice Santas and auxiliary Santas! And all these Santas are the only one real Santa Claus!

[planesawesome]

A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet, operating from the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group underway in the North Atlantic Ocean, intercepts two U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) B-1B Lancers as they enter the Canadian Air Defense Identification Zone, and again as they enter the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region, May 29, 2020. The intercepts were part of a U.S. Northern Command-led, large-scale homeland defense exercise. U.S. Northern Command's top priority is homeland defense, and leading complex multi-combatant command operations across multiple domains demonstrates USNORTHCOM’S readiness to defend the homeland regardless of COVID-19. The high-end homeland defense exercises are being executed by the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Neil Armstrong)

[usafphantom2]

US, Canadian Fighters Intercept Russian, Chinese Bombers Off Alaska

July 25, 2024 China, Russia

Five of the six fighters that escorted the Russian and Chinese bombers off Alaska are visible in this screenshot from the video released by the Russian MOD and published by Zvezda.

At least six NORAD fighters, including F-35, F-16 and CF-188 jets, intercepted Russian and Chinese bombers inside the Alaska ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone).

On July 24, 2024, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Chinese H-6 aircraft operating within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The intercept was conducted by NORAD fighter jets from both the United States and Canada.

According to the Russian MOD, the Russian and Chinese bombers were involved in a joint air patrol lasting more than 5 hours:

“An air group consisting of Tu-95ms strategic missile carriers of the Russian Aerospace Forces and H-6K strategic bombers of the PLA Air Force carried out air patrols over the waters of the Chukchi, Bering Seas and the North Pacific Ocean,” a news release says.

“During the flight, Russian and Chinese crews worked out issues of interaction at all stages of air patrol in the new area of ​​joint operations. Fighter air cover was provided by Su-30SM and Su-35S aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces.”

One of the Chinese H-6 bombers.

The mission of the Russian and Chinese bombers comes as the U.S. and allied forces are involved in RIMPAC 2024, a large exercise in the Pacific region near Hawaii, that this year sees the involvement of 29 nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, over 150 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel.

Several interceptors

“At certain stages of the route, the air group was accompanied by fighters from foreign countries.”

In fact, footage filmed from aboard a Russian Tu-95 Bear show that at a certain point during their trip in international airspace within the Alaska ADIZ, the bomber was escorted by two F-16s of the 18th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron), including one sporting the aggressor paint scheme; two U.S. F-35A stealth jets and two RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) CF-188 Hornets.

It is unclear whether all three pairs of fighters were scrambled to carry out a Visual Identification (VID) of the Russian and Chinese aircraft. Considering that at least one of the Canadian Hornets does not appear to be carrying any Air-to-Air Missiles (AAMs), it is possible that the two CF-188s were already airborne for a training mission and were then diverted to shadow the Tu-95s and H-6s.

For sure, the number of NORAD fighters visible in the clip released by the Russian MOD is unusual, if compared to other similar “close encounters” in the same area.

“During the execution of their missions, aircraft from both countries operated strictly in accordance with the provisions of international law. There were no violations of the airspace of foreign states,” the Ministry said. “Upon completion of the joint air patrol, all involved aircraft returned to their home airfields. The event was held as part of the implementation of the military cooperation plan for 2024 and is not directed against third countries.”

According to NORAD, the Russian and PRC aircraft stayed within international airspace and did not breach American or Canadian sovereign airspace. “This Russian and PRC activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat, and NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence.”

NORAD is a unique bi-national command between the United States and Canada. It utilizes a layered defense network composed of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft, all operating seamlessly together to detect, track, and determine appropriate actions for aircraft. NORAD remains prepared to deploy various response options in defense of North America.

An ADIZ is a designated area of international airspace, extending beyond sovereign airspace, where the identification of all aircraft is required for national security purposes.

Air Defense Identification Zone

As explained in other articles, here at The Aviationist, there’s a significant difference between territorial sky and ADIZ.

The Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is a designated airspace surrounding a nation or part of it where strict identification, tracking, and control of aircraft are enforced for national security reasons. Aircraft flying within these zones without proper authorization may be intercepted by fighter aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA). ADIZ boundaries often extend beyond national airspace covering territorial waters, and while not defined by international law, any civil aircraft entering these zones is closely monitored and required to provide flight details for identification. Military aircraft not intending to enter national airspace are generally exempt from ADIZ procedures, but foreign military planes within ADIZ may be intercepted, identified, and escorted.

Alaska ADIZ detail

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

@TheAviationist.com

[mariacallous]

KODIAK, Alaska—At Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, the USCGC Stratton, a 418-foot national security cutter, was hemmed into port by a thin layer of ice that had formed overnight in the January cold. Named for the U.S. Coast Guard’s first female officer, Dorothy Stratton, the ship was not designed for ice; its home port is in Alameda, California. After serving missions in the Indo-Pacific, it was brought to Alaska because it was available.

Soon the sun would rise, and the ice would surely melt, the junior officers surmised from the weather decks. The commanding officer nevertheless approved the use of a local tugboat to weave in front of the cutter, breaking up the wafer-like shards of ice as the Stratton steamed away from shore and embarked toward the Bering Sea.

In the last decade, as melting ice created opportunities for fishing and extraction, the Arctic has transformed from a zone of cooperation to one of geopolitical upheaval, where Russia, China, India, and Turkey, among others, are expanding their footprints to match their global ambitions. But the United States is now playing catch-up in a region where it once held significant sway.

One of the Coast Guard’s unofficial mottos is “We do more with less.” True to form, the United States faces a serious shortage of icebreaker ships, which are critical for performing polar missions, leaving national security cutters and other vessels like the Stratton that are not ice-capable with an outsized role in the country’s scramble to compete in the high north. For the 16 days I spent aboard the Stratton this year, it was the sole Coast Guard ship operating in the Bering Sea, conducting fishery inspections aboard trawlers, training with search and rescue helicopter crews, and monitoring the Russian maritime border.

Although the Stratton’s crew was up to this task, their equipment was not. A brief tour aboard the cutter shed light on the Coast Guard’s operational limitations and resource constraints. Unless Washington significantly shifts its approach, the Stratton will remain a microcosm of the United States’ journey in the Arctic: a once dominant force that can no longer effectively assert its interests in a region undergoing rapid transformation.

During the Cold War, the United States invested in Alaska as a crucial fixture of the country’s future. Of these investments, one of the most significant was the construction of the Dalton Highway in 1974, which paved the way for the controversial Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the U.S. entry as a major player in the global oil trade. Recognizing Alaska’s potential as a linchpin of national defense, leaders also invested heavily in the region’s security. In 1957, the United States began operating a northern network of early warning defense systems called the Distant Early Warning Line, and in 1958, it founded what became known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, such exigencies seemed excessive. The north once again became a domain for partnership among Arctic countries, a period that many call “Arctic exceptionalism”—or, as the Norwegians put it, “high north, low tension.”

But after the turn of the millennium, under President Vladimir Putin, Russia took a more assertive stance in the Arctic, modernizing Cold War-era military installations and increasing its testing of hypersonic munitions. In a telling display in 2007, Russian divers planted their national flag on the North Pole’s seabed. Russia wasn’t alone in its heightened interest, and soon even countries without Arctic territory wanted in on the action. China expanded its icebreaker fleet and sought to fund its Polar Silk Road infrastructure projects across Scandinavia and Greenland (though those efforts were blocked by Western intervention). Even India recently drafted its first Arctic strategy, while Turkey ratified a treaty giving its citizens commercial and recreational access to Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

Over the past decade, the United States lagged behind, focusing instead on the challenges posed to its interests in the Middle East, the South China Sea, and Ukraine. Its Arctic early warning system became outdated. Infrastructure off the coast of Alaska that climatologists use to predict typhoons remained uninstalled, seen as a luxury that the state and federal governments could not afford. In 2020, an engine fire in the sole Coast Guard Arctic icebreaker nearly scuttled a plan to retrieve scientific instruments and data from vessels moored in the Arctic Ocean. Two years later, a Defense Department inspector general report revealed substantial issues with the structural integrity of runways and barracks of U.S. bases across the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

Until recently, U.S. policymakers had little interest in reinstating lost Arctic competence. Only in the last three years—once Washington noticed the advances being made by China and Russia—have lawmakers and military leaders begun to formulate a cohesive Arctic strategy, and it shows.

On patrol with the Stratton, the effects of this delay were apparent. The warm-weather crew struggled to adapt to the climate, having recently returned from warmer Indo-Pacific climates. The resilient group deiced its patrol boats and the helicopter pad tie-downs with a concoction conceived through trial and error. “Happy lights,” which are supposed to boost serotonin levels, were placed around the interior of the ship to help the crew overcome the shorter days. But the crew often turned the lights off; with only a few hours of natural daylight and few portholes on the ship through which to view it anyway, the lights did not do much.

The Coast Guard is the United States’ most neglected national defense asset. It is woefully under-resourced, especially in the Arctic and sub-Arctic, where systemic issues are hindering U.S. hopes of being a major power.

First and foremost is its limited icebreaker fleet. The United States has only two working icebreakers. Of these two, only one, the USCGC Healy, is primarily deployed to the Arctic; the other, the USCGC Polar Star, is deployed to Antarctica. By comparison, Russia, which has a significant Arctic Ocean shoreline, has more than 50 icebreakers, while China has two capable of Arctic missions and at least one more that will be completed by next year.

Coast Guard and defense officials have repeatedly testified before Congress that the service requires at least six polar icebreakers, three of which would be as ice-capable as the Healy, which has been in service for 27 years. The program has suffered nearly a decade of delays because of project mismanagement and a lack of funds. As one former diplomat told me, “A strategy without budget is hallucination.” The first boat under the Polar Security Cutter program was supposed to be delivered by this year. The new estimated arrival date, officials told me, will more likely be 2030.

“Once we have the detailed design, it will be several years—three plus—to begin, to get completion on that ship,” Adm. Linda Fagan, the commandant of the Coast Guard, told Congress last April. “I would give you a date if I had one.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has long warned that the U.S. government and military, including the Coast Guard, have made serious miscalculations in their Arctic efforts. For one, the Coast Guard’s acquisition process for new boats is hampered by continual changes to design and a failure to contract competent shipbuilders. Moreover, the GAO found in a 2023 report that discontinuity among Arctic leadership in the State Department and a failure by the Coast Guard to improve its capability gaps “hinder implementation of U.S. Arctic priorities outlined in the 2022 strategy.”

Far more than national security is at stake. The Arctic is a zone of great economic importance for the United States. The Bering Sea alone provides the United States with 60 percent of its fisheries, not to mention substantial oil and natural gas revenue. An Arctic presence is also important for achieving U.S. climate goals. Helping to reduce or eliminate emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and black carbon in the Arctic protects carbon-storing habitats such as the tundra, forests, and coastal marshes.

Capt. Brian Krautler, the Stratton’s commanding officer, knows these problems well. Having previously served on Arctic vessels, he was perhaps the ideal officer to lead the Stratton on this unfamiliar mission. After a boarding team was recalled due to heavy seas and an overiced vessel, Krautler lamented the constraints under which he was working. “We are an Arctic nation that doesn’t know how to be an Arctic nation,” he said.

The Stratton reached its first port call in Unalaska, a sleepy fishing town home to the port of Dutch Harbor. Signs around Unalaska declare, “Welcome to the #1 Commercial Fishing Port in the United States.” The port is largely forgotten by Washington and federal entities in the region, but there is evidence all around of its onetime importance to U.S. national security: Concrete pillboxes from World War II line the roads, and trenches mark the hillocks around the harbor.

As Washington pivoted away from the Arctic, Alaska and its Native communities have become more marginalized. Vincent Tutiakoff, the mayor of Unalaska, is particularly frustrated by the shift. Even though Washington made promises to grant greater access to federal resources to support Indigenous communities, it has evaded responsibility for environmental cleanup initiatives and failed to adequately address climate change.

Federal and state governments have virtually abandoned all development opportunities in Unalaska, and initiatives from fish processing plants to a geothermal energy project have been hindered by the U.S. Energy Department’s sluggish response to its Arctic Energy Office’s open call for funding opportunities. “I don’t know what they’re doing,” Tutiakoff said of state and federal agencies.

Making matters worse, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is moving ahead to make the northern Alaska city of Nome the site of the nation’s next deep-water port rather than build infrastructure near Unalaska, the gateway to the American Arctic and the port of call for the few patrol ships tasked with its security. It seems that the decision was based on the accessibility needs of cruise ships; Unalaska is not necessarily a vacation destination.

By failing to invest in places like Unalaska, the United States is hobbling its own chances for growth. The region could be home to major advances in the green energy transition or cloud computing storage, but without investment this potential will be lost.

In the last year, the United States has tried to claw back some of what it has lost to atrophy. It has inched closer to confirming the appointment of Mike Sfraga as the first U.S. ambassador-at-large to the Arctic. In March, the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy participated in NATO exercises in the Arctic region of Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The U.S. Defense Department hosted an Arctic dialogue in January ahead of the anticipated release of a revised Arctic strategy, and the State Department signed a flurry of defense cooperation agreements with Nordic allies late last year.

Nevertheless, it has a long way to go. Tethered to the docks at Dutch Harbor, the weather-worn Stratton reflected the gap between the United States’ Arctic capabilities and its ambitions. Its paint was chipped by wind and waves, and a generator needed a replacement part from California. Much of the crew had never been to Alaska before. On the day the ship pulled into port, the crew milled about, gawking at a bald eagle that alighted on the bow and taking advantage of their few days in port before setting out again into hazardous conditions.

“I know we’re supposed to do more with less,” a steward aboard the Stratton told me, “but it’s hard.”

[newsfromstolenland]

"Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that on his order a U.S. fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” that was flying high over the Yukon, acting a day after the U.S. took similar action over Alaska.

North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected the object flying at a high altitude Friday evening over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday.

Trudeau spoke with President Joe Biden, who also ordered the object to be shot down. Canadian and U.S. jets operating as part of NORAD were scrambled and it was a U.S. jet that shot down the object.

F-22 fighter jets have now taken out three objects in the airspace above the U.S. and Canada over seven days, a stunning development that is raising questions on just what, exactly, is hovering overhead and who has sent them.

At least one of the objects downed was believed to be a spy balloon from China, but the other two had not yet been publicly identified. While Trudeau described the object Saturday as “unidentified,” a NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said the military had determined what it was but would not reveal details."

Full article

Tagging: @allthecanadianpolitics

[dertaglichedan]

American and Canadian fighter jets were scrambled to see off the incoming planes hours before Joe Biden addressed the nation about his presidency.

The Russian TU-95 'Bear' turboprop strategic bombers and Chinese H-6 jet bombers were spotted by North American Aerospace Defense Command.

NORAD detected and tracked the aircraft as they entered the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Wednesday, the command said.

[beardedmrbean]

North Korea said a second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit failed early Thursday, but the reclusive country vowed to launch another in the coming months.

The Malligyeong-1 reconnaissance satellite was mounted on a new type of carrier rocket called the Chollima-1 and launched from a station in North Pyongan province in the early morning hours, according to the state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA). The first and second stages "all flew normally, but failed due to an error in the emergency explosion system during the flight of the third stage," KCNA said in a statement.

North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration is investigating the cause of the accident and plans to attempt a third launch in October, according to KCNA.

North Korea attempted to launch its first spy satellite on May 31, but it crashed into the West Sea after an "abnormal starting" of the second-stage engine, KCNA said at the time.

MORE: North Korea satellite launch fails, with another promised as 'soon as possible'

In 2018, North Korea claimed to have put a satellite into space but international analysts later said that wasn't true.

Thursday's second attempt coincided with joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, which North Korea has long denounced.

The U.S., South Korea and Japan all issued statements "strongly" condemning North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology for its launch, which despite its failure they said is in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. The three allies also reaffirmed their commitment to work closely together to achieve "complete denuclearization" of North Korea in line with the U.N. Security Council resolutions.

"This space launch involved technologies that are directly related to the DPRK intercontinental ballistic missile program," Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea's official name. "The President’s national security team is assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners."

"The door has not closed on diplomacy but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement," Watson added. "The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and the defense of our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies."MORE: US, Japan and South Korea's leaders hold historic meeting as threats from China, North Korea loom large

The incident was assessed as not posting "an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, territory, or that of our allies," according to a statement from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which noted that it would "continue to monitor the situation."

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the military "was prepared in advance through identifying signs of an imminent launch."

The office for Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi confirmed that he held a telephone call with his South Korean and U.S. counterparts on Thursday morning to discuss North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch. The three officials agreed that the launches are happening "in an unprecedented frequency and in new manners" and that they "constitute a grave and imminent threat to the regional security and pose a clear and serious challenge to the international community," according to a statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Group of Seven, an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S., also released a statement condemning "in the strongest terms" North Korea's launch.

[azuremallone]

Russian Pilot: Comrade China Pilot, the Americans do nothing. Look, they cower at home! Ha! Ha! Ha! Chinese Pilot: Comrade Russian Pilot Man, we should land at Anchorage and have our way with lonely American forest-snow women! No defenses in sight! No planes to interc- American F-22 Male Pilot: Everyone knows the best women are in LA. Wild, wicked city women, man. Right Hoss? American F-22 Female Pilot: I prefer my women from Vegas. Fast, loose, and you already know how much it'll cost ya! Am I right?! Russian Pilot: Oh, no... Chinese Pilot: Where are they! Nothing on RADAR!!! This must be a joke! [American F-22 Sortie creeps up around them.] American F-22 Male Pilot: HOWDY! Whach-y'all doin'? Russian Pilot: LEAVING! Chinese Pilot: WHAT!? HOW?! [Still seeing nothing on RADAR] [Russian & Chinese Pilots bug out] American F-22 Female Pilot: Awh, I think they dumped fuel in their flight suits.

[angrybell]

Posted @withregram • @cspan “That’s controlled unclassified information,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters when asked Thursday about security preparations for Santa’s upcoming travel from Dec. 24–25.

“But I can assure you that we will ensure that Santa gets wherever he needs to go safely and securely,” he said, directing further inquiries to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

Watch more by tapping the link in our bio.

#pentagon #defensedepartment #norad #santa #santaclaus #christmas

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday released the first close-up photos of operations to recover parts of the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down on Saturday.

The photos show debris recovery efforts on Sunday off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Navy said.

They depict what appear to be evening and nighttime efforts to retrieve the large balloon that the Pentagon has said was about 200-feet tall.

Divers were working to retrieve other parts of the balloon's payload assembly -- estimated to be the size of three buses -- that likely sunk to the bottom in about 45 feet of water in the area.

Officials have said the debris field is approximately the size of 15 football fields by 15 football fields and that the balloon had propellers and a rudder.

The Pentagon has said FBI experts were aboard recovery vessels and a senior government official has said pieces would be brought to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.

Two U.S. officials have confirmed that most if not all of the balloon’s fabric that was floating on the surface has been recovered from the surface in the search area. It’s possible that other pieces may end up washing ashore but for now what they’ve seen has been picked up.

On Monday, NORAD commander Gen. Glen VanHerck told reporters that the Navy’s Pathfinder vessel, equipped with side-scan radar, was being used to see what was on the ocean floor. One official says that the payload portion of the balloon that was carrying the sensor/photography equipment is not intact and that only a portion of it has been located on the ocean floor. Only a very small portion of this payload was recovered from the surface water, the official said, noting that this description of the payload does not include the solar panels.

The search continues for the rest of that payload, the official said.

Small underwater drones, dropped from inflatable craft, are being used to help with the recovery effort.

Another official confirmed that the balloon was equipped with self-destruct explosives, but so far, no explosives have been found.

The same official confirms that U.S. U2 spy lines were used to photograph the payload area carrying the sensor equipment, adding that allowing the balloon to fly over the U.S. provided valuable information about how they operate.

Previous Chinese surveillance balloon incidents that occurred during the Trump administration and early under the Biden administration were not spotted by NORAD at the time, VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, told reporters Monday.

"We did not detect those threats. And that's a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out," VanHerck said.

In Beijing Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning was asked that about a comment Monday from White House Security Council spokesman John Kirby that there was no plan to return the balloon fragments and equipment to China and whether China had made any demands.

"What I can say is that this airship does not belong to the United States, but to China," Ming said. "The Chinese government will continue to resolutely safeguard its legitimate and legitimate rights and interests."

On Capitol Hill Tuesday, House Republicans continued to blast President Joe Biden over his handling of the balloon incident ahead of his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

"He really gave an order to shoot down a spy plane from China on Wednesday and it didn't happen till Saturday?" House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said. "Have you fired every single person that refused to obey the commander in chief?"

[lboogie1906]

Ron Stallworth (born June 18, 1953) was the first African American police officer and detective hired by the Colorado Springs Police Department. He holds the distinction of being the only African American “member” of the kkk.

He was born in Chicago but was raised in El Paso. He became a cadet in the Fort Carson police department on November 13, 1972. He became the first African-American member of the Colorado Springs police department and was sworn in on June 18, 1974.

He spent two years in uniform before becoming the youngest undercover agent in the department. He received his first assignment in April 1975 when former Black Panther Party leader Stokely Carmichael came to speak at a local nightclub. He worked in the intelligence department and the narcotics division as a detective.

In October of 1978, he saw an ad in the local Colorado Springs newspaper stating that the kkk was starting a new chapter and looking for members. He sent a letter to the PO Box listed and included his office telephone number. He received a call and was invited to join the kkk. He used a white undercover officer to take his place. He contacted a regional kkk office and spoke with David Duke, the Grand Wizard of the kkk.

He was assigned to protect David Duke during his visit to Colorado Springs. The investigation kkk lasted nine months and identified many local Klansmen as soldiers, including two who were stationed at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the central facility near Colorado Springs, as well as high-ranking government officials.

He transferred to the Utah Department of Public Safety, working as an investigator. He retired in 2005 and gave his first interview about infiltrating the kkk. He had kept the story a secret for twenty-seven years. He wrote Black Klansman about his undercover experience. The film adaptation was called BlacKkKlansman. It debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in France and won the prestigious Grand Prix Award. The film won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

He lives with his second wife, Patsy. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[versatileer]

NORAD Tracks Santa Live on Christmas Eve – 2023

Coming to Versatileer on Christmas Eve:  THE  SANTA  TRACKER! Brought to you courtesy of NORAD NORAD Tracks Santa Rights Reserved FANDOM Lifestyle Community Click HERE if widget does not load NORAD: “We have the watch.” The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is an organization jointly operated by the United States and Canada. Its primary objective is to safeguard the homeland…

[libertariantaoist]

Here is your daily roundup of today's news:

News Roundup 5/18/2023

by Kyle Anzalone

Russia

Washington is launching the “Ukraine Content Aggregator,” an artificial intelligence program designed to detect so-called Russian disinformation online. The Institute

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that the Black Sea grain export deal designed to keep goods flowing through Ukrainian ports has been extended for two more months. The Institute

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte have agreed to work to form an “international coalition” to ship American-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. AWC

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow is ready to look at peace proposals for the conflict in Ukraine from African leaders and Brazil. AWC

Hungary on Wednesday said it would continue to block EU aid to Ukraine due to Kyiv’s “increasingly belligerent” attitude. AWC

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NORAD head said Chinese aircraft may start operating near the US this year

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 13/03/2024 - 09:00 in Military

U.S. Air Force General Gregory M. Guillot, the new head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), warned lawmakers on March 12 that Chinese warplanes could start operating near the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) as early as this year.

“Fortunately, we have not yet seen Chinese aircraft operating near our air defense identification zones, but I think this will happen as early as this year,” Guillot told the House Armed Services Committee in his first testimony in Congress since he took office as NORAD and Commander of NORTHCOM in February. "This shows a general concern I have about China's growing capacity, not only with aircraft, but also with ships and even submarines capable of moving further away from China and getting closer to our coasts."

Air Defense Identification Zones are buffer regions that extend beyond territorial borders, covering airspace hundreds of kilometers from the coast that nations use to track approaching aircraft. NORAD tracks aircraft using a network of satellites, ground and air radars and combat aircraft, and all aircraft entering or leaving U.S. airspace from abroad must be identified in advance.

Russian fighters and bombers regularly enter the U.S. ADIZ, without entering U.S. or Canadian airspace. Occasionally, NORAD sends fighters to intercept these aircraft and escort them out of ADIZ. In February, NORAD reported three occurrences of Russian aircraft operating in the Alaskan ADIZ.

Russian aircraft then enter the Alaskan ADIZ.

The entry of Chinese aircraft into the US ADIZ, however, would mark an expansion of the reach of the People's Liberation Army. In recent years, the ELP has entered ADIZ around the island of Taiwan hundreds of times, sometimes sending dozens of planes in a single day, in movements that observers warn that they may be probing Taiwan's defenses or inducing them to a feeling of complacency.

U.S. and China aircraft have been dealing with each other in the Indo-Pacific - the Pentagon revealed in 2023 that Chinese aircraft have made more than 180 risky interceptions of U.S. aircraft in the last two years, surpassing the total incidents of the previous decade, increasing concerns about China's unpredictable and increasingly provocative behavior.

At the same time, Chinese surveillance balloons entered U.S. airspace five times in recent years, with the Pentagon losing several at the time they occurred, before one of them crossed the entire U.S. continental territory in January 2023, eventually being shot down after a few days.

The Chinese balloon shot down in January 2023.

Guillot told lawmakers that NORAD has taken steps to better identify objects such as spy balloons that may have gone unnoticed in the past, filling the "domain knowledge gap" highlighted by his predecessor, General Glen D. VanHerck.

"First of all, my predecessor... advised that the radar sensitivities be adjusted, which would allow better detection of objects of low cross-sectional section of the radar, slow movements and high altitude," said Guillot, adding that the system, however, introduces some confusion due to the receipt of more data.

"Secondly, when our operators see intermittent hits that in the past would generally be attributed to the weather or other phenomena that would cause an inconsistent hit, they now continue to track them with more care and consistency to ensure that it is not a balloon or some other phenomenon," Guillot said.

"And the third is a better recognition of dominance among the other combatant commands. As we get the JADC2... the ability to share data from one combatant command to another, instead of stopping on a black line on a map that divides the regions, we can now share that information electronically in a transparent way to increase our consciousness even further away from our backs.”

JADC2 sensor network.

Still, Guillot said that the surveillance systems of NORAD and NORTHCOM need more investments, calling radar beyond the horizon (OTHR) and the long-range discrimination radar (LRDR) as their "main priorities".

The Missile Defense Agency said in January that an LRDR missile defense system in Alaska is almost complete and will start operating at the end of this year. Both the U.S. and Canadian military have invested in the OTHR, with the U.S. Air Force planning to build four OTHR for NORAD and NORTHCOM. Guillot added that Alaska will have an OTHR. As the process is still at an early stage, he stressed that keeping the program on track is essential.

“This would give us capability against cruise missiles, traditional airstrips, as well as hypersonic weapons,” Guillot said. "Keeping this program on track is NORTHCOM's number one priority, due to the large capacity it would bring."

The Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) at the Clear Space Force Station in Alaska includes a multiface radar designed to provide search, tracking and discrimination capability in support of internal defense. The LRDR complex also includes mission control facilities, power plant and maintenance facilities.

Guillot added that hypersonic weapons pose a greater threat than intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) due to their ability to fly at lower altitudes and maneuverability.

“The hypersonic weapon is probably the most destabilizing weapon we face now,” Guillot said. "They shorten the detection time and the fact that they do not follow a traditional ballistic track means that they are very unpredictable and the area of uncertainty is huge, based on their speed and manoeuvrability. That's what makes them a challenge not only to detect, but also to track and eventually defeat."

Source: Air & Space Forces Magazine

Tags: Military AviationNORADPLAAF - China Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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