Air Force Gen. VanHerck Reveals Chinese Balloon Threats Have Gone Undetected by the U.S., Highlighting an “Awareness Gap

At a briefing on Monday, Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command, revealed that Chinese balloon threats have gone undetected by the United States in the past. This, he said, highlights an “awareness gap” that needs to be resolved.

Gen. VanHerck said that the U.S. did not detect the threats, and that it is a “domain awareness gap” that needs to be addressed. He made the remark after providing an update on the recovery operations following the discovery of a large balloon drifting above the Kingston, N.C. area.

The balloon was discovered after the Trump administration left office, and the Biden administration has not revealed how or when they found out about the balloons. Gen. VanHerck said that the U.S. needs to figure out how to better detect these threats in the future.

The U.S. military has been tracking balloons since the Trump administration, but this is the first time that a Chinese balloon has been detected. The discovery of the balloon has raised questions about the security of the U.S. and how to better detect potential threats.

Gen. VanHerck said that the U.S. needs to figure out how to better detect these threats in the future. He said that the military is working on ways to improve its detection capabilities, but did not provide any specifics. The Biden administration has not yet commented on the issue.