A large Chinese spy balloon has been detected over the continental United States, according to the Pentagon.
The discovery put the military and intelligence services of the United States and Canada on alert, but the Pentagon said it did not plan to fire.
Where, and how big?
US defense officials said the balloon entered US airspace “a few days ago” but its exact location has not been disclosed.
Officials told US media that they were flying in the state of Montana, which borders Canada, and at a higher altitude than commercial air traffic.
The balloon flew over the Aleutian Islands in the northern Pacific Ocean, and then crossed Canadian airspace into the United States, US media said, citing defense officials.
The same report cited the official as saying the balloon was as big as three buses.
Separately at background media briefings, senior US defense officials declined to share the exact dimensions.
“But there are reports of pilots seeing this thing, although it is quite high in the sky,” added the official.
“So, you know, it’s pretty big.”
How do you know it’s Chinese?
A senior Pentagon official said the United States had “very high confidence” that it was a Chinese balloon.
“We have no doubt that this is a PRC balloon,” the official said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
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China says it is used to verify US claims.
“Until the facts are clear, making conjectures and hyping up the problem will not help to actually resolve it,” said the spokesman of the Chinese foreign minister Mao Ning.
“We have no intention of violating any sovereign country’s territory or airspace.”
Why hasn’t it been shot yet?
The balloon was large enough that it would have rained debris, endangering the safety of people on the ground, US officials said.
The Pentagon is considering options including firing down on sparsely populated areas, but thinks the risk is still too high, a senior defense official added.
“Is there a threat to civil aviation? Our assessment is no. Does it represent a significantly increased threat on the intelligence side? The best assessment now is no,” said the official.
“We assess that the risk is low, although the probability is low … of debris falling and injuring others or damaging property worthless.”
Is it spying on?
The balloon’s path took it over “some sensitive sites,” a senior Pentagon official said when asked about the presence of a nuclear missile silo in Montana.
“Obviously, they are trying to fly … these balloons over sensitive sites … to gather information,” the official added.
However, the balloon’s technology is not “revolutionary” and its observations are no better than what China can see through other means such as spy satellites, the official said.
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“These balloons have limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”
Both the United States and Canada, however, said they were taking steps to protect against foreign intelligence gathering.
Is this the first Chinese spy balloon in the United States?
China has sent such balloons to the United States in recent years, a senior Pentagon official said.
The official did not share details, but indicated that the flight was detected so far during the administration of the previous president Donald Trump.
However, the official added, this is the first time a Chinese balloon has remained in US airspace for an extended period of time.
Don’t satellites render spy balloons useless?
Balloons have been used for military and espionage purposes for over a century, including by the United States after World War II.
But the advent of the space age and advances in aviation mean that satellites and high-flying spy planes can be seen in enemy territory more reliably, rendering balloon spying generally obsolete.
However, modern balloon development projects are underway in several countries, including the United States, China and France.
Experts say balloons are cheaper to build and use and can stay in the air for a long time.
“It’s phenomenal what you can do with a high-altitude balloon,” US Army Lt. Gen. Daniel Karbler told Defense News in 2020.
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He described the cost as “pennies on the dollar” compared to other options.
China has also invested in the development of military balloons, showing a smaller, connected model at the Zhuhai Air Show in 2021 that state media said could perform reconnaissance and threat detection.
The project could pose a threat to national security, said General Frederic Parisot, deputy chief of the French air force.
“In the future, we will have balloons above our heads for months at a time, which can compromise our activities at a lower cost than from space.”