The US military has been monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been hovering over North America for the past few days, and military and defense leaders have discussed shooting it out of the sky, according to two US officials and a senior defense official. Is.
“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is currently over the continental United States,” said Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told NBC News. “We continue to track and monitor this closely.”
“After the balloon was detected, the US government took immediate action to protect it from the collection of sensitive information,” Ryder said.
The high-altitude balloon was seen in Billings, Montana, on Wednesday. It flew through Canada, and into the Aleutian Islands in Montana. A senior defense official said the balloon was still over the US but declined to say where it was now.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called a meeting of senior military and defense leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, NorthCom/NORAD Commander Gen. Glenn VanHerk and other combatant commanders.
Austin was traveling in the Philippines at the time.
The leaders reviewed the threat profile and potential response options of the Chinese stratospheric balloon, and ultimately decided not to recommend dynamically ejecting it due to the risk to the safety and security of people on the ground from the potential debris field. Pentagon leaders presented the options to President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
A senior administration official confirmed that Biden was briefed and received a “strong recommendation” not to shoot down the balloon.
“Instances of this activity have been seen over the years, including prior to this administration,” the senior administration official said. “We took immediate action to protect against the collection of sensitive information.”
Biden did not answer a question from reporters about the balloon at the White House on Thursday afternoon.
“We currently assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective far beyond what the PRC could do through other means,” the senior defense official said. “Yet we are taking all necessary steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
The official said the balloon does not pose a threat to civil aviation due to its height.
The official said the US military would continue to monitor it closely and would keep the option of ejecting the balloon on the table.
“We are closely tracking this in real time and will continuously update our assessment,” the official said. “We’re under constant surveillance of this thing through a bunch of different means.”
The official said there was a window when the balloon was over Montana on Wednesday when they could take it down. NORAD sent planes — including an F-22 Raptor from Nellis Air Force Base and airborne early warning aircraft known as AWACs — but officials would not say whether one of the options would be the U.S. Had to shoot the balloon from the sky with the plane.
US military flights prompted a ground stop at the airport in Billings, with air traffic controllers citing a “special military mission”.
The US is confident the balloon is from China, the official said, and they have informed the Chinese government “through multiple channels both in DC and Beijing.” The official did not say whether the Chinese believed the balloon was theirs.
This type of activity is not unprecedented, the senior defense official said, adding that China has flown stratospheric balloons like this before, but the difference this time is that the balloon was flying over the U.S. for longer than usual.
According to the National Weather Service, the stratosphere begins 4 to 12 miles above Earth’s surface and extends to about 31 miles.
Tension between the US and China is at its peak. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced it would strengthen the US military presence near Taiwan with plans to increase the number of US military personnel in the Philippines. Announced during Austin’s visit to Manila, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) designates four more bases where US military personnel can now base themselves in strategic areas of the country, adding to the five already authorized to house US troops.
“We are not seeking a permanent base in the Philippines,” Austin said during a news conference on Thursday.