On Feb. 4, the US military shot down a giant white balloon in US airspace, suspecting it to be a Chinese surveillance device. Since then, US planes have shot down three more unidentified flying objects over the US and Canada.
These aerial encounters take place amid a climate of heightened geopolitical tension between Washington and Beijing.
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Tomorrow, the Weekend Brief will look at the history of balloon espionage programs and the key features that differentiate these surveillance devices from typical satellites launched into space.
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