One reason why the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has detected more “objects” in recent days may be that the department has recently adjusted its filters to better detection of slow-moving targets operating above a certain height, one source said. the matter told CNN.
The filters were only adjusted and expanded in the past week, the source said, after a high-altitude spy balloon, suspected of being Chinese spying, passed over the US and sparked debate over the issue. the ability of the United States to detect and defend against any potentially threatening object entering the country. sky.
washington articles first report about NORAD regulation.
The United States was able to track the spy balloon’s path before it entered U.S. airspace — and eventually shot it down off the coast of South Carolina — largely because the US intelligence community had developed a method over the past year to track balloons using a specific set of signals they emit, as CNN previously reported.
In general, however, NORAD tends to prioritize detecting fast-moving targets below a certain altitude – such as threatening aircraft or certain incoming missiles.
The source said the narrower filters are intended to allow NORAD and defense officials to better understand the volume of data collected on any given day. If they don’t filter out slow-moving objects, early warning air defense systems pick up a lot of noise, such as weather balloons and birdsong.
Two of the three objects shot down in the past three days – near Alaska and northern Canada – were flying at about 40,000 feet, US and Canadian officials said, posing a potential risk to civilian aircraft . Officials said both objects also appeared to have a balloon, with a small metal cylinder underneath.
Little is known about the third object that was shot down near Lake Huron on Sunday.
