According to two U.S. officials and a senior defense official, the U.S. military has been keeping an eye on a possible Chinese spy balloon that has been circling the northern United States for a few days. Military and defense authorities have talked about blasting the balloon out of the sky.
According to Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a spokesman for the Pentagon, "The United States government has spotted and is following a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is now above the continental United States." "We still closely track and monitor it."
"The U.S. government proceeded promptly to protect against the capture of sensitive information once the balloon was spotted," Ryder said.
On Wednesday, a high-altitude balloon was seen over Billings, Montana. Through Canada, the Aleutian Islands, and Montana, it soared. A top defense official confirmed that the balloon is still over the United States but would not specify its current location.
Senior military and defense officials, including Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander of NORTHCOM/NORAD, and other combatant commanders, met on Wednesday under the auspices of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
At the time, Austin was visiting the Philippines.
Biden was briefed and given a "strong recommendation" that the balloon not be shot down, a senior administration official confirmed.
The senior administration official stated that instances of this conduct had been seen over the previous few years, even before this administration. "We took urgent action to prevent the gathering of sensitive information."
On Thursday afternoon at the White House, reporters questioned Biden about the balloon, but he remained silent.
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