In recent days, the authorities in the United States have been monitoring a suspected Chinese spy balloon, which has flown over the northern United States. That is written by Reuters.
According to an official at the Pentagon, the United States has been monitoring the balloon since it arrived in airspace a couple of days ago, including with the help of military aircraft.
– It is clear that the purpose of this balloon is to carry out surveillance, says the official.
According to the report, the balloon must be the size of three buses ABC News.
At the request of President Joe Biden, it has been considered to shoot it down over the state of Montana, but the authorities have chosen not to do so due to the high security risk for people on the ground.
– No great threat
But the Pentagon believes that the balloon does not pose a particularly great intelligence threat.
– We consider that this balloon has limited added value from an intelligence gathering perspective, says the official.
The balloon is said to have flown over the North West of the USA, where, among other things, the Malmstrom base is located, one of the USA’s three underground silo fields for nuclear missiles.
Considered shooting down
At the request of President Joe Biden, it has been considered to shoot it down over the state of Montana, but the authorities have chosen not to do so due to the high security risk for people on the ground.
Biden is said to have asked which options were possible to handle the situation, and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin is said to have had discussions with senior officials in the Pentagon on Wednesday. Austin was then himself in the Philippines.
The news about the spy balloon comes just days before Foreign Minister Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China. It is not clear whether this will affect his travel plans, which have not been formally announced by the State Department.
