After Chinese balloon flies across US, Senators seek end to incursions

Robert Besser
19 Mar 2023, 05:08 GMT+10

US Senators Mark Kelly and Ted Budd will introduce legislation mandating tracking systems that detect high-altitude weather and research balloons.
After US fighter jets shot down a Chinese balloon and three other objects last month, the two senators told Reuters they will introduce legislation to help identify balloons operating in US airspace.
Under the legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration must issue regulations mandating equipping high-altitude balloons with tracking systems to transmit altitude, identity and location.

WASHINGTON D.C.: US Senators Mark Kelly, a Democrat, and Ted Budd, a Republican, will introduce legislation this week to help the US military differentiate between potential threats by mandating tracking systems that detect high-altitude weather and research balloons.

After US fighter jets shot down a Chinese balloon and three other objects last month, the two senators told Reuters they will introduce legislation to help identify balloons operating in US airspace.

Under the legislation, the Federal Aviation Administration must issue regulations within two years mandating equipping high-altitude balloons operating at 10,000 feet above sea level or higher with tracking systems to transmit altitude, identity and location.

A former US Navy pilot and NASA astronaut, Kelly said, "At a time when our adversaries are using hostile surveillance tactics, there is no reason why our country should have to wonder whether an object in our airspace is a threat, weather balloon, or science project."

In a statement, Budd, who is a pilot, said, "The recent shoot down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the skies over our country for more than a week highlights the immediate need for the FAA to re-evaluate how we track objects flying over American airspace."

The FAA is also required by the legislation to work with the International Civil Aviation Organization to draft equivalent international standards for high-altitude balloons, and must create a committee to propose recommendations to update existing regulations.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Pakistan Telegraph.

More Information

12 ℃

Smoke in Lahore/Iqbal

International

Section

Twenty-two dead, 1 still missing as Marapi volcano erupts in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia: The death toll from the eruption of Indonesia's Marapi volcano surged to 22 as rescuers discovered additional climbers ...

HRW officials believe Israel is apartheid state

In September, Tamir Pardo, who headed the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from 2011 to ...

US Navy says salvaging crashed jet in Hawaii will cost $1.5 million

HONOLULU, Hawaii: U.S. Navy officials say that it would cost some $1.5 million to salvage a P-8A jet plane that ...

Scale of human lives lost in Gazan conflict prompts rare UN move

NEW YORK, New York - In a rare move, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has taken a dramatic constitutional step ...

No casualties reported after Marapi volcano erupts in Indonesia

BUKITTINGGI, Indonesia: On December 2, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, erupted, sending hot ash clouds several miles (kilometers) ...

Philadelphia City Council bans ski masks to control crimes

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania: In a measure supporters claimed will increase public safety amid high violent crime rates, Philadelphia City Council passed ...