Defense & National Security — Digging into the Chinese balloon’s equipment

by Brad Dress - 02/09/23 8:06 PM ET

A high altitude balloon floats over Billings, Mont., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions.(Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP)

The Chinese spy balloon that flew over the nation for several days last week had the capability to collect communications intelligence, according to the U.S. government.

We’ve got all the details on that, plus the news on the latest congressional bill to repeal the Gulf War and Iraq War authorizations.

Plus: We talk to Trump-era Defense Secretary Chris Miller and look at his case to reform the Pentagon in his new book, “Soldier Secretary.”

This is Defense & National Security, your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Brad Dress. Subscribe here.

Balloon could collect communications intel, US says

In another dizzying turn of events for the Chinese spy balloon case, officials have disclosed that the surveillance device had antennas and solar panels and the capability to collect communications intelligence.

The State Department confirmed the details, saying it was part of a global Chinese surveillance campaign that has flown balloons over more than 40 countries spanning five continents.

Inside the balloon: An F-22 fighter jet shot down the balloon on Saturday after it flew from Alaska to the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.

The Navy’s recovery efforts are still underway, and we have more to learn about the balloon, which weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and is the size of three buses.

The State Department said the surveillance device came with multiple antennas to collect and geolocate communications, while the solar panels pack enough power to operate intelligence collection sensors.

China’s operation: While satellites are commonly used by nations to spy on other countries, balloons offer their advantages.

They are cheaper to deploy and can also linger over areas for longer, potentially taking clearer pictures or picking up more communications.

The State Department said the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military, is working directly with a balloon manufacturer to produce the surveillance devices and then deploy them worldwide.

The U.S. said it will consider taking action against Chinese entities and work to expose and address the surveillance campaign.

Read the full story here.

Trump DOD chief makes case to reform Pentagon

Former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller is out with his new memoir documenting his rise from a soldier in military ranks to the eventual head of the Pentagon under former President Trump.

“Soldier Secretary” also tracks Miller’s slow-burning disenchantment with the U.S. military-industrial complex, which he calls a “hydra-headed monster.”

From soldier to bureaucrat: Miller spent his childhood in Delaware and Iowa, with news about the Vietnam War blaring on the TV every night.

Miller enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1980 but didn’t experience real combat until 2001, when he was sent into Afghanistan as a special forces company commander.

It was after the 2003 invasion of Iraq when Miller’s thoughts turned much darker.

“The more I thought, the more I was horrified,” he writes. “We invaded a sovereign nation, killed and maimed a lot of Iraqis, and lost some of the greatest American patriots to ever live — all for a goddamned lie.”

The argument: In “Soldier Secretary,” Miller appeals for the U.S. to cut the Pentagon’s budget in half, recreate the military into a nimbler fighting force and to hold top military leaders accountable when they make costly mistakes.

This is important in order to combat foreign adversaries, including Russia and China, Miller tells The Hill.

“We’re doing the same old thing again and the world situation has changed,” Miller says. “Instead of doing what they want us to do and expect us to do, which plays into their hands, I want us to be more sophisticated. Maybe not take the bait every time.”

Congress pushes to nix Iraq, Gulf war authorizations

A bipartisan team of congressional lawmakers are having another go at passing legislation that would formally repeal the Iraq War and Gulf War authorizations.

The bill would formally repeal the 1991 Gulf War authorization and the 2002 Iraq war authorization, both of which remain on the books, although the Gulf War is decades in the past and former President Obama pulled U.S. forces out of Iraq in 2011.

‘No longer necessary’: The bill was introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) in the Senate.

In the House, Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) introduced paired legislation.

Kaine said the war authorizations are “no longer necessary, serve no operational purpose, and run the risk of potential misuse.”

“Congress is responsible for both declaring wars and ending them because decisions as important as whether or not to send our troops into harm’s way warrant careful deliberation and consensus,” the senator said in a statement.

Some context: Similar legislation has been introduced before, including from Kaine and Young in 2019 and 2021.

Also in 2021, the House voted to repeal the war authorizations, but the measure got snagged up that year in the Senate.

Schumer support: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he supports the new legislation.

“The Iraq war has been over for more than a decade. Saddam Hussein is no longer around; his regime has long been removed,” Schumer said in a statement. “Every year we keep this authorization to use military force on the books is another chance for a future President to abuse or misuse it.

“War powers belong squarely in the hands of Congress,” Schumer continued, “and that implies that we have a responsibility to prevent future presidents from hijacking this [authorization] to bumble us into a new war.”

Read that story here.

ON TAP TOMORROW

The Atlantic Council chats with European Commission Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, for a virtual event beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The Jewish Institute for National Security of America hosts Stephen Rademaker, former assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation, to discuss the Iran nuclear deal. The event begins at 10 a.m., with registration available here.
The Brookings Institution hosts an online event at 10:30 a.m. to discuss American, Chinese, and Russian military involvement overseas.