We Made Sure Nuclear Assets Were ‘Buttoned Down’ When Chinese Spy Balloon Flew Overhead: Secretary Austin

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (R) walks past military guards during arrival honors at the Department of National Defense in Camp Aguinaldo military camp in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 2, 2023. (Rolex Delapena-Pool/Getty Images)

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has admitted that the Chinese spy balloon which flew over the country last week made the establishment concerned about U.S. nuclear force capabilities being exposed, with the balloon reportedly venturing near key military strategic sites.

“You don’t know what it was looking for … What were you concerned about it looking for?” CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin asked Austin in an interview released Wednesday. “Well, I—certainly, all of our strategic assets, we made sure that we were buttoned down and movement was limited and communications were limited so that we didn’t expose any capability unnecessarily,” Austin replied, while clarifying that “strategic assets” referred to America’s nuclear force.

Martin asked, “So, the nuclear bases across this country from Montana to Whiteman in Missouri, all across, they were all buttoned up?” to which, Austin replied, “They were.”

On Feb. 4, the U.S. Air Force shot down a massive orb believed to be a Chinese spy balloon on live television. The government revealed that the balloon flew over sensitive regions in the United States with some of the locations storing nuclear warheads. The Pentagon added that the balloon was controllable and capable of changing course.

On Feb. 7, a Pentagon spokesperson revealed that China declined a request for a phone call between Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe.

Visiting Militarily Strategic Sites

During a Feb. 7 news conference, House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) raised concerns about the Chinese balloon accessing critical military information. “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.”

In Nebraska, the balloon came close to the Offutt Air Force Base, home of the U.S. Strategic Command which is in charge of the nation’s nuclear forces. In Montana, the balloon was spotted near the Malmstrom Air Force Base which houses America’s land-based nuclear weapons in over 150 missile silos.

The balloon ventured near the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri which is home to the B-2 stealth bomber capable of dropping thermonuclear weapons.

It also passed through between the Minor Air Force Base in North Dakota and the Warren Air Force Base that is spread over Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. Each of these bases has over 150 missile silos.

“The idea that Communist China has a spy balloon headed towards Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri right now—the home of the Stealth Bomber—is absolutely unbelievable. No American should accept this. I don’t,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said in a Feb. 4 tweet.

Previous Chinese Balloon Incursions

On Wednesday, the Pentagon said that there have been four instances in the past when a Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States, flying over sites that would be of interest to the Chinese regime.

However, it did not say whether any of these visits passed over military bases. Three of the incursions had occurred during the Trump administration and one under the Biden administration, claimed the Pentagon.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that the Trump administration’s national security team appeared to be “totally unaware” of Chinese balloon incursions.

“I can only draw one conclusion that, if it happened, it certainly wasn’t at this altitude level, because it wasn’t visible to the naked eye like this one was … And if it did happen, it raises serious questions about our intelligence community, that if they had this information, why don’t they share it with the administration at the policy political level?” he said.