The weeklong televised drama over the high-altitude spy balloon that traversed U.S. skies before being shot down by fighter jets may be this generation’s Sputnik moment, alerting Americans to the dangers of rising Chinese aggression while also raising troubling questions about the Pentagon’s ability to protect the nation’s airspace.
Victoria Coates, former deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump, said the silver lining, if there is one, is that the episode so captured Americans’ attention that it could create a learning moment for the masses on China’s ill intentions toward the United States comparable to how the Soviet Union’s launch of the Sputnik satellite awakened Americans to the Cold War’s dangers.
