PNA
03 Feb 2023, 19:09 GMT+10
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental US, an official said Thursday.
"We continue to track and monitor it closely," Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
"The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground," he added.
"Once the balloon was detected, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information," said Ryder, noting that similar activity had been previously observed over the past several years.
A senior defense official said the balloon was "clearly" intended for surveillance and entered US airspace two days ago.
He added that they were looking at shooting it down but have considered the risk that it may entail.
"We had been looking at whether there was an option yesterday to take down the balloon over some sparsely populated areas in Montana, but we just couldn't," the official added.
President Joe Biden was briefed about the balloon and asked for military options, he added.
"Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective. But we are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information," the official added. (Anadolu)
Get a daily dose of Manila Metro news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Manila Metro.
More InformationBEIJING, China: Following the inability of China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd to release financial reporting obligations in 2020, China ...
BLUE MOUNTAINS, Sydney, NSW, Australia - A search in the Blue Mountains for a man that was launched on Sunday ...
BERLIN, Germany: Germany will send a cabinet minister to visit Taiwan next week, at a time when Berlin is reviewing ...
HANOI, Vietnam: SpaceX, Netflix and Boeing will join what is described as the "biggest-ever" U.S. business mission to meet in ...
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Reuters reported that after winning an order to manufacture wireless AirPods earphones for Apple for the first time, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US government has charged exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with being the mastermind behind a complex conspiracy ...
FRANKFURT, GERMANY: Authorities said that as part of a crackdown on gangs suspected of blowing up ATM machines and stealing ...
BERLIN, Germany: Germany will send a cabinet minister to visit Taiwan next week, at a time when Berlin is reviewing ...
ZURICH, Switzerland - Depositors will be fully protected, shareholders will have their equity dwarfed, while bond holders will be largely ...
ATLANTA, Georgia: Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week showed that in 2021 during the ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Demands by environmentalists have resulted in the passing of rules in which natural gas-powered furnaces and water ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US government has charged exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with being the mastermind behind a complex conspiracy ...