An alleged Chinese spy balloon that has been travelling over northern states for the past few days is being watched by the US authorities.
According to Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, the American administration has discovered a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the United States.
“A high-altitude surveillance balloon that is now over the continental United States has been found and is being tracked by the US authorities. Norad and the U.S. government continue to constantly observe and monitor it.
The balloon does not pose a military or physical threat to persons on the ground as it is currently flying at a height much above commercial air traffic. Over the past few years, instances of this kind of balloon activity have been seen before. The American administration took rapid action after the balloon was discovered to prevent the capture of sensitive data, “Added Ryder.
The U.S. government is “certain” that the surveillance balloon belongs to the People’s Republic of China, according to a senior defence official.
The balloon was recently over Montana, the defence official said, and officials considered shooting it down with military equipment but ultimately decided against it due to the risks involved. The official also said that President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation and requested military options.
“You may have seen news from yesterday about a ground halt at the airport in Billings and the mobilisation of several resources, including an F-22. The reason for that was because we prepared some resources in case the decision was made to shoot this down while it was over Montana.
We therefore needed to be certain that we were working in concert with civil authorities to clear the airspace above that prospective location. However, despite taking these safety precautions, our military commanders believed that we hadn’t lowered the risk to an acceptable level. We decided not to take the shot, “explained the official.
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