The United States has been tracking a Chinese spy balloon hovering over the northern part of the country for days, Pentagon officials announced Thursday.
A senior Pentagon official said the US intelligence community was “very confident” that the balloon belongs to the People’s Republic of China and had been flying over sensitive sites to gather intelligence for the past two days.
The official, speaking anonymously, said one of the locations where the balloon was seen was over Montana, home to one of three US nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Fighter jets, including F-22s, were poised to shoot down the balloon at President Biden’s direction and he was presented with options, whereupon he proposed shooting down the balloon, but his military leaders advised against it due to security concerns. security for civilians on the ground.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. general Patrick Ryder told reporters in a brief statement that the balloon “is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and poses no military or a physical threat to anyone on the ground.”
The defense official said the United States had “engaged” with Chinese officials to convey the seriousness of the situation, which comes just days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to travel to China.
“We have communicated to them how seriously we take this issue,” the official said. “We have made it clear that we will do whatever it takes to protect our people and our homeland.”
It’s unclear whether the incident will affect Blink en’s travel plans.
At this time, the official said, following the recommendations of Army Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley and Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, the US position is to allow the balloon to continue floating above the US, rather than try to shoot it down.
The official added that similar ballooning activity has been observed in recent years. The United States has taken steps to ensure that confidential information is not compromised.
The official could not comment on the balloon’s size but said it is visible to commercial pilots even at high altitudes.
The most concerning aspect regarding the balloon is its high altitude and the duration of its flight, he said.
Earlier this month, a recently declassified government report revealed that most of the “UFO” sightings reported over the past year were actually balloon-shaped objects.
The sightings “continue to occur in restricted or sensitive airspace, highlighting potential concerns for flight safety or adversary gathering activity,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence wrote.
