Update, 4 p.m. February 4 — The suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down by the U.S. military off the Carolina coast following orders from President Joe Biden. Recovery efforts are underway by the U.S. military.
According to a release from the U.S. Department of Defense, “On Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path. After careful analysis, U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload. In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities.”
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Original story, 5 p.m. February 3 — The Chinese balloon that has led national headlines for the last two days could fly over Owensboro this evening, although it would likely be difficult to see due to darkness and the altitude of the aircraft.
According to TV station WPSD, the balloon will appear over Paducah between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. While the exact path is unknown, if the balloon continues on the route predicted by WPSD, it could cross over Owensboro sometime around 7 p.m. The sun will set in Owensboro at 5:14 p.m., so it would likely be difficult to see the balloon.
American military officials have said it’s a surveillance balloon, while Chinese officials claimed it’s a weather research balloon that drifted off course.
According to a release issued Friday from the U.S. Department of Defense, as of noon today the balloon “was at an altitude of about 60,000 feet and floating over the center of the continental United States in an easterly direction, posing no risk to commercial aviation, military assets or people on the ground.”
The North American Aerospace Defense Command is continuing to monitor and leaders are reviewing options, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.
“The balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is unacceptable,” he said, adding that the U.S. has communicated that to Chinese leaders at multiple levels.
The balloon is carrying surveillance gear as well as a payload, Ryder said, not elaborating about the payload.
According to the release, Ryder said a reason not to shoot it down at this point, “is that besides not posing a threat to people or aircraft, the resulting debris from a strike of this large balloon could be harmful to people on the ground and result in property damage.”
In a Department of Defense release issued Thursday, Ryder said after the balloon was detected, the U.S. government “acted immediately” to protect against the collection of sensitive information, though he didn’t detail what measures were taken.
Ryder also said this isn’t the first time such a balloon has been seen over the United States.
According to the Department of Defense release, a senior defense official said Thursday this is not the first time such a balloon has been seen above the United States, but did say this time the balloon appears to be acting differently than what has been seen in the past.
The official said the risk of using kinetic force to take the balloon out of the sky might put civilian communities at risk, and that the threat the balloon poses now to both safety and U.S. intelligence doesn’t justify such an action.
“Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collective collection perspective,” the official said. “But we are taking steps, nevertheless, to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
On Friday, China’s foreign ministry issued a statement confirming it was their airship but disputing its purpose.
“It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” the statement reads. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.“
