KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that the North American Aerospace and Defense Command is monitoring the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon but that it “does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time.”
He also pushed back at China’s claim that it was merely a research balloon that got loose.
“We are aware of the PRC’s statement,” Ryder said. “However, the fact is we know that it’s a surveillance balloon. I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that. We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. air space and international law, which is unacceptable. We’ve conveyed this to the PRC at multiple levels.”
The balloon is traveling at about 60,000 feet over “the center of the continental United States,” which is well above typical flight paths for commercial air traffic, according to Ryder.
Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, confirmed that the balloon had traveled over Kansas, but the Pentagon said it won’t be providing an hour-by-hour update of the balloon’s path.
“The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is,” Ryder said.
He said this is not the first time the Pentagon has “monitored this type of balloon activity elsewhere before,” but he said those previous incidents were classified and that the “duration and length that it has been over U.S. territory” makes this incident different.
Ryder said intelligence has confirmed the balloon is maneuverable and has changed course during U.S. military surveillance, but he declined to go into more specific intelligence.
“Right now, we’re monitoring the situation closely and reviewing options, but beyond that, I’m not going to have any additional information,” Ryder said.
The possibility of shooting the balloon down remains, but defense officials are worried about a debris field that could endanger civilians.
“We assess that it will be over the United States for a few days, but we’ll continue to monitor and review our options,” Ryder said.
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