population if over land, an AIM-9X Sidewinder works just as well over the Pacific as the Atlantic.
What could have been the hold up? Why wasn't it intercepted as it entered the Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) Was the military asleep at the switch and did not recognize the intrusion of NORAD?
"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.
Bullshit, the baby went out with the bath water, the cow is out of the barn and the chicoms have pinpointed the GPS coordinates of every Minuteman III silo and every B-52 runway. Austin and Biden waited until the info that the chicoms were collecting had been transferred home. Does anyone think the balloon had to get back to China for the chicoms to get whatever they were looking for? As soon as they realized that ANR is vulnerable, they wet their collective trousers.
As for team Biden, our safety and security were seriously jeopardized when the balloon flew over Alaska and the continental United States. What in the hell was :effective, after the balloon had crossed regions of Alaska, Canada and the continental United States?
Whatever the chicoms were looking for, they have it now and could not care less when the balloon headed off the Carolinas' coast. Biden and his team, once again, a day late and a dollar short. Afghanistan redux.