Pentagon: We are confident that the balloon that appeared in the sky over the US belongs to China
Balloon with shadow from the ISS
A little over two years after China deployed a "balloon" system for detecting missiles and tracking missile launches, the United States announced that one of these balloons had appeared over American territory.
Recall that in November 2020, the Japanese press reported the formation in China of a “group of balloons”, which, together with space satellites, is capable of tracking rocket launches. Such balloons are placed at altitudes of up to 100 km for observation with signal exchange with satellites, which in turn transmit information to the command center. Then it was reported that China tested such balloons in the area of the Spratly Islands, an archipelago whose ownership is disputed by various countries of East Asia.
Now the Pentagon has recorded the appearance of a "balloon of unknown origin" in the sky over the United States. A spokesman for the US Department of Defense said he was "confident that the balloon belongs to China."
From the statement of the official:
The balloon is located at an altitude that exceeds the echelons of commercial traffic. So far, he does not pose a physical and military threat to people on earth.
The official added that the decision was made not to shoot down this aerial object.
In China, the Pentagon's statements have not yet been officially commented on.
Previously, experts noted that when at an altitude of up to 100 km, the view of the balloon cameras is tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of square kilometers. At the same time, the resolution of images and videos is much higher than that which can be achieved at the moment with satellite monitoring of the earth's surface.
Information