National Security Crisis:New Details About Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP)

Rear Admiral John Kirby,US Navy retired,Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House,held a briefing on 13 February 2023 for the press corps at the White House.China has had a long-standing programme of balloon surveillance.These balloons have provided a limited additive capability to the People's Liberation Army.We are finally trying to understand such Unidentified Aerial Phenomena better.We have been more closely scrutinising slow-moving,high altitude objects that are hard to detect.In each instance,we have followed the same basic course.Those objects whose altitude posed a threat to civilian aircraft were shot down immediately.There are no active tracks today.We are working with our Allies on tracking UAP.Interagency teams have been formed to deal with the UAP issue within the US Government.The fourth object, which came down in Lake Huron,came down in the Canadian part of Lake Huron and we had good communications with our Canadian Allies.It had been shot down by Wisconsin Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcons.* In general,with a balloon,as opposed to a spy satellite,you could get better fidelity photos;you can loiter and soak in a little bit more information.NORAD and NORTHCOM commander General Glen Van Herck is using established protocols.The AIM-9X Sidewinder missile is the safest,most effective way to bring objects down,in his judgement.A fighter jet's cannon could threaten civilian aircraft.Some of the Chinese spy balloon's electronics have already been recovered,along with some of its structure.Why were the three weekend objects shot down?They were unmanned,not being controlled,posing a threat to civilian aircraft,and could have surveillance capabilities with which to threaten national security.* The US Coast Guard is assisting the Canadian Coast Guard at Lake Huron.It is believed the wreckage of this fourth object is in deep water.The object had an octagonal shape with strings attached to the bottom.There is no reason for the American people to worry about extraterrestrial craft.There is no indication of such a thing.The basic parameters of the objects have been seen before.Some of them could be small rigid-sided dirigibles,pointed out former FAA official Mary Schiavo.It's nothing new.* The US has been aware of China's balloon programme since 2021.We're seeing more objects because we're looking more.We have modified the radar filters to scrutinise low speed,high altitude objects.* CNN has reported that the Beaufort Sea,Alaska object and the Yukon Territory object had small metal cylinders attached to them (possibly surveillance payloads).The Beaufort Sea object was metallic and broke into pieces when it hit the sea ice.The Yukon object was a small metallic balloon with a payload that had traveled over sensitive US sites.The Lake Huron object descended slowly into the water when it was shot down.* Update:The US Navy and Coast Guard have almost finished recovering the Chinese spy balloon off South Carolina.They will now move out further from the coast to finish up.

Thule Air Base:NATO's Arctic Nerve Centre - plus what the US intends to do there

According to the US Air Force,Thule Air Base,Greenland,is a combined US-Canadian-Danish and Greenlandic environment of about 550 military,civilian and contractor personnel.It is supported by the US Air Force Space Command's 821st Air Base Group,which enables force projection,space superiority,and scientific research in the Arctic Region for the US and its allies through integrated base support and defence operations.The 821st operates and maintains TAB in support of its missile warning and satellite command and control operations missions.The base's missions are executed by the 12th Space Warning Squadron and Detachment 1,23rd Space Operations Squadron.*
TAB provides a 10,000 foot runway that handles more than 3,000 US and international flights annually,as well as the world's northernmost deep water port,served by the Air Force's only tugboat and a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker.*
The 12th Space Warning Squadron operates the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System for NORAD.It detects and tracks ICBMs launched against North America.Detachment 1 is part of the 50th Space Wing's global satellite control network.*
Located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle,above the aurora borealis,TAB hosts the 21st Space Wing's global network of sensors,thus providing missile warning,space surveillance and space control to NORAD and Air Force Space Command.It is a critical node of space situational awareness.For its part,Detachment 1 links ground stations and their satellites.
Among TAB's tenants are scientific organisations such as the National Science Foundation;NASA;the Smithsonian Institution;the Danish Technological Institute;the Danish Meteorological Institute;and the Arctic Institute.Their research topics include wildlife migration;climate change;and astrophysics.*
On 16 September 2018,USDP (Undersecretary of Defense for Policy) John Rood signed a Statement of Intent on Defense Investments in Greenland while on a visit to TAB:
This Statement of Intent lays out principles for investing in Greenland to enhance US military operational flexibility and situational awareness in order to address the changing security environment in the Arctic.In light of this development and in an effort to strengthen US and NATO capabilities,the US Department of Defense intends to pursue potential strategic investment vigorously,including investments that may serve dual military and civilian purposes.For example,the US Department of Defense intends to analyze and,where appropriate,strategically invest in projects related to the airport infrastructure in Greenland,including projects that may have dual civilian and military benefits.These investments would seek to enhance US and NATO capabilities in the North Atlantic region and would benefit the United States,the Kingdom of Denmark,and the people of Greenland.*
TAB is also critical for the support of Canada's remote Arctic outposts,Canadian Forces Station Alert,which is reportedly a SIGINT collection platform,and Eureka Research Station.Cargo for the brutal winter months is delivered to the stations from TAB in the biannual Operation Boxtop,involving an intensive flight schedule for Canadian transport aircraft and US Air Force air traffic controllers.*
Another recent mission at TAB involved Danish F-16 aircraft flights as part of ascertaining capability for search and rescue missions over Greenland and defining logistical requirements for potential future F-16 operations.*
Air Force Security Forces execute battle drills at TAB,thus tailoring training to a hands-on and mission-specific approach.

Canadian Coast Guard To Receive New Icebreaker

Canada has awarded a design contract for a new polar icebreaker to STX Canada Marine.The vessel is slated to replace the current flagship icebreaker Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St.-Laurent in 2017.The Canadian Coast Guard operates a number of other light to heavy icebreakers.The new ship will be 140 meters long-or 454.3 feet-and displace 23,000 tonnes.It will be capable of breaking ice about 2.4 meters/8 feet thick.This John G. Diefenbaker class ship will carry out a wide range of Arctic and winter missions for Fisheries and Oceans Canada,the Canadian Coast Guard's parent ministry.These will include everything from scientific research to fisheries and sovereignty enforcement and search and rescue.In the meantime,CGCS Louis S. St.-Laurent will continue to carry out such missions.Since 2008,she has been conducting Arctic research annually with U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy(WAGB-20),America's only functional polar icebreaker at this time.The Canada-U.S. Joint Expedition program has been an effort to ascertain the delineation of the extended continental shelf in the Arctic.This is important for the protection,management and use of ocean resources under the Convention on the Law of the Sea,which requires a defintion of rights in concrete geographical terms.The research involves gathering bathymetric data for a 3D map of the ocean floor,as well as seismic reflection data for a cross-section view of beneath the ocean floor.Another American polar icebreaker,USCGC Polar Star(WAGB-10),is currently being reactivated for return to service in 2013.This blog would like to extend hearty congratulations to the Canadian Coast Guard on the occasion of its 50th anniversary year.