Pentagon reveals movements of Chinese spy balloon
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A senior Pentagon official has flatly rejected Beijing’s claims that a Chinese airship was a meteorological balloon that had accidentally blown over the continental US.
Brigadier General Pat Ryder said during a press briefing at midday on Friday that the US was continuing to weigh its options and described the airship’s presence as an “unacceptable” violation of US airspace.
“We are aware of the (People’s Republic of China) statement. However, the fact is, we know that it’s a surveillance balloon.”
He said the balloon was moving eastward over the centre of the United States at an altitude of 60,000 feet on Friday.
He refused to give precise details about the airship’s location, adding: “The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is.”
Earlier, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said the balloon had accidentally blown over the US.
Defence officials have said the balloon’s flight path had taken it over “a number of sensitive” military sites, including the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, which houses 150 nuclear warheads.
On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to China after Beijing claimed ownership of the surveillance balloon.
Pentagon officials says the ‘spy’ balloon is maneuverable
Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the intelligence gathering balloon was being deliberately maneuvered by China.
“The balloon is maneuverable, clearly it’s violated US air space, and again we’ve communicated that fact to the (People’s Republic of China),” he said, without providing details how it was being maneuvered.
Brig Gen Ryder said during a press briefing on Friday that the balloon “has changed its course which, again, is why we’re monitoring it.”
'We assess that it’ll probably be over the United States for a few days’
Brig Gen Ryder says based on its current trajectory, the balloon will remain above the US over the weekend.
“We assess that it’ll probably be over the United States for a few days,” he said.
Brig Gen Ryder asked if the US can take the balloon out of the sky intact
Pat Ryder reiterates that the US decided not to shoot down the balloon out of an abundance of caution.
He didn’t respond specifically to whether the US could take it down intact.
Brig Gen Ryder asked whether the location of the balloon is classified
Brig Gen Ryder won’t say whether the location of the balloon is classified.
“The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is.”
He has said it is moving eastward over the continental US and is travelling at about 60,000 feet.
Asked whether the balloon flew over Japanese air space, Brig Gen says he can’t disclose that.
Brig Gen Ryder won’t say how close US came to shooting balloon down
Brig Gen Ryder said he won’t discuss how close the US came to shooting the balloon down.
“Again, we currently assess that the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time, and will continue to review excuse me continue to monitor and review options.”
'We know that it’s a surveillance balloon’
Brig Gen Ryder says they know for certain it’s a “surveillance balloon”.
He said it’s currently floating at an altitude of 60,000 feet and is heading eastward over the continental US. He refuses to be more specific.
“We know that there are civilian owned commercial cameras that could spot the balloon.”
Pentagon says it can’t provide precise location of the ‘spy’ balloon
Brigadier General Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon Press Secretary, has just opened a briefing to say that he won’t have a lot of new information about the Chinese air balloon.
He said it is continuing to move eastward, and is currently over the centre of the continental United States.
He said he cannot provide a more precise location.
Live: Pentagon officials deliver a briefing on the Chinese balloon
The Pentagon is holding a live briefing on the “intelligence-gathering” Chinese airship that the US says has violated its sovereign airspace.
Watch live as the Pentagon holds a press briefing in the aftermath of a Chinese surveillance balloon being detected over the US. It is expected to be the foc...
What is a spy balloon?
Montana is a sparsely populated state in the north, bordering Canada and is home to one of only three nuclear missile silo fields in the US.
The Independent’s Matt Mathers has more details.
Suspected Chinese spy balloon spotted over state of Monntana, home to one of only three nuclear missile silo fields in the US
Breaking: Pentagon calls Montana air balloon ‘a clear violation of US sovereignty’
The Pentagon has dismissed China’s claim that a balloon flying over US airspace was a civilian airship, and said it was confident in its earlier assessment that it was conducting surveillance.
“We do acknowledge China’s statement of regret regarding this incident. We remain confident in our assessment of the situation,” a senior defence official said during a call with reporters.
The defence official called the presence of the alleged surveillance balloon over US airspace “a clear and unacceptable violation of US sovereignty.”
The Independent’s Richard Hall has details of a Pentagon press briefing held moments ago.
The Pentagon claims the balloon is a Chinese surveillance aircraft
