An object identified as a “high altitude surveillance balloon” by the U.S. Department of Defense was detected over the continental U.S. Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
“We are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the [People’s Republic of China],” said a senior defense official this week.
“I’m not going to go into all the ways in which we know that it’s a PRC balloon,” said the official. “I will just say we have very high confidence that this is a PRC balloon. Very high confidence.”
According to Ryder, the balloon was traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic Thursday. He also said it does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground and that the government acted immediately to protect against collection of sensitive information.
A press conference update on the balloon was announced Friday. It can be found here.
“The U.S. government, to include NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely,” Ryder said Thursday.
Over the past several years, there have been instances of “balloon activity” such as this one, Ryder said. In 2019, the U.S. tested its own surveillance balloons, Business Insider reported.
“As was said at the top, instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration,” according to the senior defense official. “In this instance, President [Joe] Biden was briefed and asked for military options.”
The Department of Defense said the balloon seen this week observed the balloon through manned aircraft and other means.
“I think the thing that is different is the altitude and of course the willingness to put it over the continental United States for an extended period of time,” said the defense official of this balloon.
According to the defense official, it was the “strong recommendation by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, and the commander of NORTHCOM, General VanHerck, not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field,” when the balloon was detected. “We are also tracking what abilities it could have in gaining insights.”
When asked how large the balloon is the senior defense official said they were not going to describe its exact dimensions. However, they did say that the balloon was “large enough to cause damage from the debris field if we downed it over an area,” and that said it is “sizable.”
They went on to say that the government was considering shooting it down over some sparsely populated areas in Montana.
The senior defense official said that the clear intent of the balloon is surveillance. They also said that whoever is operating the balloon was attempting to fly it over sensitive sites.
“Our best assessment at the moment is that whatever the surveillance payload is on this balloon, it does not create significant value added over and above what the PRC is likely able to collect through things like satellites in Low Earth Orbit,” they said.
“Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective,” the official said. “But we are taking steps, nevertheless, to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
“We have engaged PRC officials with urgency through multiple channels,” the defense official said. “They’ve been engaged both through their embassy here in Washington and through our embassy in Beijing.”
They said the U.S. has made it clear that the government intends to protect its people but would not go into details about the communications.
“The airship is from China,” said a message posted Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. “It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”
In the wake of the balloon’s discovery, the State Department announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned trip to China would be postponed. He was expected to depart tonight.
“We have noted the PRC statement of regret,” said a statement from the department. “But the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty, as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred. After consultations with our interagency partners, as well as with Congress, we have concluded that the conditions are not right at this moment for Secretary Blinken to travel to China.”
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