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 Paris Guardian.

More Information

15 ℃

Partly Cloudy in Paris/Orly

International

Section

Newly signed Wyoming law outlaws use of abortion pill

CHEYENNE, Wyoming: A Wyoming bill outlawing the use or prescription of medication abortion pills, which was passed by the state's ...

US, states using cloud seeding to generate rain in west

DENVER, Colorado: The Southern Nevada Water Authority has voted to accept a $2.4 million grant from the US Bureau of ...

Wet winter ends three year California drought

WASHINGTON D.C.: The US government has reported that the exceptionally wet winter in California this year will offer relief from ...

German police crackdown on gangs blowing up ATMs in robberies

FRANKFURT, GERMANY: Authorities said that as part of a crackdown on gangs suspected of blowing up ATM machines and stealing ...

German visitor to talk computer chips in Taiwan

BERLIN, Germany: Germany will send a cabinet minister to visit Taiwan next week, at a time when Berlin is reviewing ...

UBS to buy Credit Suisse for fraction of its value, Swiss government to underwrite losses

ZURICH, Switzerland - Depositors will be fully protected, shareholders will have their equity dwarfed, while bond holders will be largely ...

Business

Section