Eyes aloft.

The strange and unpersuasive narrative on the Chinese spy balloon.

Listening in.

The revelation of the Chinese spy balloon presently over Montana has spurred a strange flurry of, well, related revelations. For example, this isn’t the first of its kind over the continental United States. 

Lara Seligman @laraseligman

This is not the first time DoD has detected a balloon of this nature over the continental United States

Lee Hudson @LeeHudson_

This is not the first time a surveillance balloon has come into domestic airspace. It is appearing to "hangout for a longer period" than in previous instances, the senior defense official said.

It isn’t the first of its kind over other parts of the United States, either. 

Andrew deGrandpré @adegrandpre

The latest --> A U.S. intelligence official tells the @washingtonpost that similar balloons have been spotted previously over Hawaii & Guam. Via @DanLamothe @AlexHortonTX + @John_Hudson @yabutaleb7 & @shaneharris

washingtonpost.comChinese spy balloon flying over U.S. ‘right now,’ Pentagon saysThe discovery, just days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to visit Beijing, prompted discussion of whether to shoot down the surveillance system.

It seems fairly clear that this is a known PRC surveillance platform, witnessed many times within American airspace. It is a matter of public attention now only because it was spotted over Montana by civilian observers, and was obviously something unusual. 

War Monitor @WarMonitors

⚡️⚡️Chinese spy balloon over Montana, United States — KSVI-TV

Several elements of the narrative here don’t quite add up.