Chinese Spy Balloon Went Over Other US Nuclear Weapons Sites, Top Lawmaker Says

The Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023.; and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over a debris field during recovery efforts on Feb. 4, 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters); U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Jerry Ireland)

A top House lawmaker said the Chinese spy balloon transited over key U.S. missile and nuclear weapon sites before it was shot down off the coast of the Carolinas last weekend.

“If you take the path that this balloon did, and you put up an X every place where you have a missile defense site, actual nuclear weapons infrastructure, you’re going to follow this path,” House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said in a news conference with reporters on Tuesday, USA Today reported. “So I think the natural conclusion is, it is intelligence gathering with respect to try to affect in some way the command and control of our missile defense and nuclear weapons.”