Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ordered a second ‘flying object’ be shot down by US Jets over Canadian airspace over the weekend.   Joint operations under the NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) agreement seemed to work seamlessly to confront the Chinese airborne threat.  If nothing else, it shows how well NORAD works in practice.

US officials say the balloon was part of a flotilla collecting intelligence across over 40 countries on five continents – which leaves us wondering if Australia is included in that tally.  Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer believes that the latest objects are also balloons.

Balloons are an effective and cheap way of collecting intelligence, which begs the question – should Australia start sending up balloons of our own?

Image: Image: Shutterstock – Thomas Barrat

Produced By: Roderick Chambers

Featured In Story: Dr Dennis B. Desmond – Lecturer CyberIntelligence and Cybercrime Investigations University of the Sunshine Coast

First aired on The Wire, Tuesday 14 February 2023