Security News > 2023 > February > Chinese surveillance balloon over US causes fearful gasbagging

A Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon, spotted drifting over the US, has caused concern about national security - but the Department of Defense says it will not be shot down by F22s at this time.

"The United States Government has detected and is tracking a high altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," read a statement from Pentagon press secretary brigadier general Pat Ryder.

"Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years," said Ryder, adding that the US government had taken immediate actions to protect against collection of sensitive information.

A senior DoD official said the US government is confident the balloon belongs to China.

Reaction to the balloon having hit the US military's radar has, predictably, generated much criticism of the Biden Administration's approach to national security and US borders.

Although the balloon is clearly for surveillance and flying over sensitive sites, the official position is it likely does not provide any more value that what can be collected from a Low Earth Orbit satellite, and its tech is not "Revolutionary."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/02/03/chinese_surveillance_balloon_over_us/