The Pentagon Is Tracking a Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Over the Western United States

The U.S. Department of Defense is tracking a surveillance balloon owned by the Chinese government, a senior defense official said.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the military considered shooting it down, but decided against doing so.

CNN reported:

“The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Ryder said.

“We are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the [People’s Republic of China],” the senior defense official said. “Instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration.”

The official said the US government has engaged with the Chinese government both through the Chinese embassy in Washington and the US diplomatic mission in China.

The balloon “does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Ryder said.

The discovery of the balloon comes days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet with Chinese officials in Beijing.

“We know exactly where this balloon is, exactly what it is passing over, and we are taking steps to be extra vigilant so that we can mitigate any foreign intelligence risk,” the official said.

The official added the balloon’s path has been over “a number of sensitive sites.” It was first spotted over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska before it crossed into Canadian airspace and then headed over Montana.

Last year, Politico reported the Pentagon had been working on a plan to use its own spy balloons against China and Russia.

“The high-altitude inflatables, flying at between 60,000 and 90,000 feet, would be added to the Pentagon’s extensive surveillance network and could eventually be used to track hypersonic weapons,” the outlet said.

The Pentagon spent $3.8 billion on such balloons from 2020 to 2022.

Watch above via CNN.