It's worth remembering that the U.S., while surely spied upon, has been the world leader in developing aerial reconnaissance through at least the last few generations of technology, our political correspondent writes.
Gary Powers, accused of espionage over Russia in his U2 airplane, was tried in Moscow in August 1960. Powers endured months of interrogation, went through a Soviet show trial, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and served nearly two years before he was traded for a Soviet spy.Gary Powers, accused of espionage over Russia in his U2 airplane, was tried in Moscow in August 1960.
He was to conduct the last of a series of covert flights on May Day 1960, but his top-secret, high-altitude U-2 jet was shot down deep inside Russia. As the CIA had begun to suspect, the U-2 was no longer flying faster or higher than Soviet surface-to-air missiles could reach. The awkwardness of the U-2 fiasco also lent a certain credibility to the criticism leveled by the Democratic presidential nominee that year, John F. Kennedy. He and others had been trying to make the case that the Soviets, having launched the first satellite and then sent the first human into space, were winning the space race and undercutting U.S. military superiority.
There, the Chinese took the 24 U.S. service personnel who had been on board into custody. Ten days of negotiation resulted in the U.S. issuing two apologies, one for the collision itself and the death of the Chinese pilot and one for landing on Hainan without official permission. But the U.S. never acknowledged the aircraft had been engaged in surveillance or, as the Chinese described it, espionage.
That may be one reason the discovery of the Chinese balloon intrusion, and the subsequent hyper-sensitivity of the U.S. government to unidentified high-altitude objects, has had such an impact on Americans.After the Powers incident, U.S. scientists and engineers at Lockheed's famous"Skunk Works" designed and built another generation of high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The Lockheed SR-71would be christened the Blackbird.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Chinese official says NATO is creating 'confrontations' after Chinese spy craft floated across AmericaA Chinese government official says that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is creating 'confrontations' and stoking 'divisions,' and called for 'harmony.'
Read more »
Kristi Noem compares other states' COVID-19 response to Chinese Communist PartyIn a talk about COVID-19 policies, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem called government restrictions a 'power grab' not unlike actions taken by the Chinese Communist Party.
Read more »
Chinese Yuan and Indian Rupee set to appreciate at a rapid pace – WestpacEconomists at Westpac updated their forecasts for the USD/CNY and USD/INR pairs by the end of 2023 and 2024. CNY and INR have great promise “The USD/C
Read more »
Top Chinese investment banker Bao Fan is latest CEO to go missing | CNN BusinessOne of China's top investment bankers has become unreachable, according to his company.
Read more »
Chinese social media users share edited Putin speech video with false subtitles about UkraineChinese social media users have repeatedly shared a doctored clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech with false subtitles that claim he said he will not step down from power until 'the problem in Ukraine is settled'. However, the video contains clips taken from two different addresses and audio from one of the speeches. The Chinese and English language subtitles are false translations of the speech. As of February 17, 2023, AFP has found no official reports about Putin making such an announcement.
Read more »
Taiwan reports Chinese balloon found on northern islandTaiwan’s Defense Ministry says a Chinese weather balloon has landed on Tungyin amid U.S. accusations that such craft have been dispatched to spy on Washington and its allies.
Read more »