An alleged Chinese spy balloon that’s been traveling over northern states for the past few days is being watched by the US authorities.
Chinese Spying on America
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said the U.S. government found a high-altitude spy balloon flying over the U.S.
As per Ryder, a high-altitude spy balloon currently hovering over the American continent has been found and is being tracked by the US authorities.
Norad and the U.S. government proceed to constantly watch and monitor it. People on the ground are not in danger because the balloon is flying so high above normal air traffic that it doesn’t pose a physical or tactical threat.
This type of balloon activity has been observed in recent years. The US administration took quick measures once the balloon was found to halt access to sensitive data.
The U.S. government is “certain” that the surveillance balloon originates from the People’s Republic of China, according to a high defense official.
🚨#BREAKING: Chinese surveillance balloon forecasted travel map track⁰
📌#UnitedStates | #USAOfficials are currently tracking a Chinese surveillance balloon that is currently flying through the U.S. and moving southeast and is expected to be over somewhere SE Missouri tomorrow pic.twitter.com/aVBtlZnn7f
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) February 3, 2023
The defense official said the balloon was recently over Montana and noted that officials considered shooting it down with weapons and military equipment. They ultimately decided against it, due to the risks involved.
The official also said President Joe Biden knew about the situation and asked what military options were available.
He said we may have seen the news from yesterday about a ground halt at the airport in Billings and the mobilization of several resources, including an F-22.
We did this because we had some resources ready in case the decision was made to shoot this down while it was over Montana. So, therefore, we needed to be certain we were working in concert with government servants to clear the airspace above that prospective location.
Even though we took all of these safety measures, our military leaders thought we hadn’t cut the risk enough. He said they decided not to shoot it down.
If Joe Biden and his administration are too weak to do the obvious and shoot down an enemy surveillance balloon perhaps we just let the good people of Montana do their thing… I imagine they have the capability and the resolve to do it all themselves.
🎈🎈🎈— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 3, 2023
The administration is still contemplating a number of options for how to deal with the Chinese surveillance balloon.
A highly placed senior U.S. official told Fox News that alternatives presented to Biden and his national security team involved fears that if the army shot down the blimp, the falling debris would most likely cause civilian casualties on the ground.
White House Unsure of Options
As per the insider, the White House hasn’t excluded firing the balloon down if it were considered safe to do so.
The report claimed there is more present than just a balloon and if it were gunned down, a substantial amount of heavy machinery would collapse to the earth.
The government has been watching the blimp for quite a bit of time, according to the senior defense official, who added it reached American airspace “a couple of days ago.”
