Austin: Spy Balloon Forced Us To Limit Communication Across Country

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently stopped by CBS News for an interview with National Security Correspondent David Martin.

While there, Austin mostly spoke about the Chinese spy balloon that recently floated across America.

Apparently, in response to the balloon, American nuclear bases "were buttoned down" and "movement was limited and communications were limited so that we didn’t expose any capability unnecessarily."

Martin then asked Austin if there are things about which Americans should be concerned in terms of the types of information the balloon was seeking.

"Well, I — certainly, all of our strategic assets, we made sure that we were buttoned down and movement was limited and communications were limited so that we didn’t expose any capability unnecessarily," Austin responded.

Martin then asked if "the nuclear bases across this country from Montana to Whiteman in Missouri, all across, they were all buttoned up?" Austin confirmed that they had been. He also confirmed that by "strategic assets," he was talking about America's nuclear force.