“It is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesperson for the Pentagon. Another Chinese spy balloon, according to the U.S. authorities, is flying above Latin America.
A Pentagon spokesperson told on Friday night, “We are seeing reports of a balloon traveling Latin America.” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. We currently believe it to be a further Chinese surveillance balloon.
In a briefing on Thursday, Ryder stated that the American government had discovered a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the American continent.
The U.S. administration is “certain” the surveillance balloon is coming from the People’s Republic of China, a senior defense official stated during the briefing.
The official claimed that while the balloon was recently over Montana, the government pondered shooting it down but ultimately opted against using military force due to the probable dangers.
President Biden requested military options after being informed of the situation, the official claimed.
The mobilization of several assets, including an F-22, and a ground halt at Billings Airport were both mentioned in reports from yesterday, the official said. The reason for that was so that we could prepare in case the decision to bring this down while it was over in Montana was made.
According to a representative for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the balloon was a “civilian airship” that was employed for meteorological research and veered off course on Friday.
“The airship originates in China. It is a civilian blimp that is utilized for research, mostly in meteorology “explained the spokeswoman. The airship strayed far from its intended trajectory because of the Westerlies and its limited ability to steer itself.
The Pentagon rejects the theory that the item is an errant weather balloon.
The balloon initially took off from mainland China, a senior U.S. official said, adding that “this was planned.”
The discovery of the balloon forced U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a previously scheduled trip to China.
On Friday, the balloon was spotted over Kansas City, Missouri. The balloon will likely hover over American airspace for “a few days,” Ryder told reporters.
