Spy Balloon Over Continental U.S. Raises Concerns

Well, this is interesting. Recently, there has been a bit of a buzz over the appearance of a “Spy Balloon” over the continental U.S., which has been tracked over the last few days.

Origin and Tracking of the Balloon

According to officials at the Pentagon in a press release, they are very confident that the said balloon belongs to the People’s Republic of China and its flight track had passed over several “sensitive” military facilities.

Pentagon’s Response

In a statement made by Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above any commercial traffic and does not pose a threat to civilian aircraft. It was also stated that the White House was briefed about the craft and although the Air Force could be ordered to shoot it down, the Pentagon had advised against taking such action. The possible debris field could scatter hundreds of miles due to its altitude and cause harm to those on the ground.

Department of Defense’s Stance

But despite this violation of airspace, the Department of Defense seems to have taken a “Meh” approach to the situation, as they had been tracking the balloon well before it entered American airspace and had taken steps to ensure no sensitive information could have been gathered by the craft.

Previous Incidents

Interestingly enough, the Pentagon has admitted that this is not the first time such a balloon had been used as they had said that a number had been detected over the last decade.