And we have had custody of it the entire time it has been over U.S.
But I will say we have been tracking it for some time. I'm not going to go into all the details because I don't want to reveal sensitive information. We wanted to, you know, take care that somebody didn't get hurt or property wasn't destroyed.Īnd, I'm sorry, how long have we been tracking it. In terms - and so whether it factored into the decision, it did in the sense that we had to assess what the possible debris field would look like falling from that height. But there have been reports of pilots seeing this thing, even though it's pretty high up in the sky. So, beyond that, though, I can't really go into the dimensions. But we just couldn't buy down the risk enough to feel comfortable recommending shooting it down yesterday. We had been looking at whether there was an option yesterday over some sparsely populated areas in Montana. We did assess that it was large enough to cause damage from the debris field if we downed it over an area. So how big? You know, I'm not going to go into the exact dimensions. SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, good questions. Can you give us a sense of how big is it? Is it as big as a car? Big as a bus? Did that factor into the decision not to shoot it down? And, I guess, third on the balloon, when did you first start tracking it? Was it before it crossed into the continental United States? A couple of questions about the balloon itself. We are also tracking what abilities it could have in gaining insights, and continue to monitor the balloon as it is over the continental United States.Īnd so with that, let me pause and I'll take your questions.Īll right, first we'll go to Tara Copp, Associated Press. But we are taking steps, nevertheless, to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information. It was the strong recommendation by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, and the commander of NORTHCOM, General VanHerck, not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field.Ĭurrently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective. Secretary Austin convened senior DoD leadership yesterday, even as he was on the road in the Philippines. In this instance, President Biden was briefed and asked for military options. As was said at the top, instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration. But so a few things.įirst, we are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the PRC. So a couple of things up top, and then happy to take a few questions. And you can attribute this to a senior defense official. STAFF: And with that, we'll go ahead now and revert to on-background. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information."
Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic, and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. government, to include NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely. "The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now. This is from Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary. So first, I'm going to read you an on-the-record statement. And then I'll turn it over our senior defense official. I'll provide you then with an on-the-record statement. I'm going to go over a couple of ground rules first. So thank you very much for joining us a little bit later in the day. Brigadier General Pat Ryder here, the Pentagon press secretary.
BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Good evening, everyone.
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