A Chinese high-altitude intelligence balloon has been detected over the United States. After the development, 3 planes belonging to the USA took off. “The US government has detected and is tracking the high-altitude surveillance balloon over the US mainland,” the Pentagon said.
“US GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO WATCH THE BALLOON”
In a statement made by the Pentagon, it was reported that the Chinese intelligence bubble was in the US sky. Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder told reporters, “The US government has detected and is tracking the high-altitude surveillance bubble over the US mainland. “The US government, including the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), continues to closely monitor and monitor the balloon.”
“IT IS NOT SEEN IN THE USA FOR THE FIRST TIME”
Emphasizing that the balloon is far above civil air traffic and does not pose a threat to civil aviation, Ryder also stated that such a balloon has not been seen for the first time over the USA. Ryder stated that after the balloon was detected, the US government took immediate action to prevent the collection of sensitive information, but did not elaborate on what measures were taken.
“WE ARE SURE IT BELONGS TO CHINA”
An unnamed senior Pentagon official, who made a statement after Ryder, also stated that they were confident that the balloon in question belonged to China. The senior official stated that the US has contacted Chinese officials through multiple channels and said, “We conveyed to them how seriously we take this issue. We have made it clear that we will do whatever is necessary to protect our people and our homeland.”
“However, we are still taking steps to protect against the collection of sensitive information by foreign intelligence,” the official said.
“QUITE BIG”
Noting that this is not the first time such a bubble has been seen over the US, the official said, but this time the bubble behaved differently than seen in the past. “It stayed in US airspace much longer than before,” he said. Referring to the size of the balloon, the official said, “There are reports that pilots have seen this balloon even though it is quite high in the sky. So it’s pretty big,” he said. Stating that they did not drop the balloon due to the debris that may occur on the ground, the official noted that the balloon was also seen over Montana yesterday.
Source: UAV