The US military has been tracking a PRC reconnaissance balloon over the northern United States for several days. This was reported on February 2 by the TV channel NBC referring to Pentagon press secretary Patrick Ryder.
“The US government has located and is tracking a high-altitude observation probe that is right now over the continental United States,” he said.
It is noted that the balloon flew from the Aleutian Islands through the territory of Canada and reached the state of Montana. The authorities took emergency measures to protect classified information as soon as it was discovered. The Pentagon expressed confidence that the balloon belongs to China.
The incident was reported to US President Joe Biden.
At the same time, the probe, according to the Pentagon, does not pose a threat to citizens and flies above the level at which the airliner routes lie. The military decided not to shoot him down yet, as there is a risk of harming someone or damaging any property.
As Ryder stressed, the United States contacted the Chinese side through the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the American Embassy in Beijing. China was given to understand that the United States of America will do whatever is necessary to protect its citizens and territory, he added.
In turn, Beijing has not yet commented on this statement.
Earlier, on November 23, it became known that hundreds of Chinese-made drones were discovered in a few months in limited airspace over Washington. We are talking about entertainment drones, but in the US they are worried about the potential spy threat.
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