"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during an impromptu briefing Thursday evening. "The U.S. government, to include NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely."
According to a senior defense official, the ballon "has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective." A separate senior official told ABC News the balloon is the size of three buses and complete with a technology bay, which the defense official "wouldn't characterize" as "revolutionary."
These comments suggest the balloon, which is flying at 60,000 feet, is no more capable than satellites in low earth orbit at taking photos.
The alleged Chinese spy balloon. (Fox News / Fox News)
According to a senior U.S. defense official, the balloon was launched from mainland China. The Pentagon does not believe China's assertions that this was a weather balloon that flew off course. There was no "force majeure" that caused the Chinese surveillance balloon to enter U.S. airspace.
"This was intentional," a senior U.S. official told FOX News Journalist Jennifer Griffin.
The balloon is flying at 60,000 feet, which is higher than most U.S. warplanes or aircraft can fly. To put that in perspective, the F-35 Lightning II, the United States' newest multi-role aircraft, has a service ceiling of 50,000 feet, while controlled airspace for commercial aircraft ranges between 18,000 and 60,000 feet, with most commercial traffic flying around 35,000 feet.
Map shows approximate path of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over Montana Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. (Fox News / Fox News)
So far, the U.S. has decided not to shoot the balloon down, saying it is not an immediate threat and that the debris falling from the balloon as it plummets to earth could cause harm to civilians and property.
The Department of Defense said the intent of the balloon is surveillance and that it's goal might have been to locate and study United States' nuclear missile silos in Montana.
The balloon is currently over Kansas City, Missouri, and will likely stay over U.S. airspace a few days.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/montana-china-spy-balloon
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