The United States government is following a balloon suspected of belonging to China and being used for spying, NBC News reported on Thursday. Officials from the Department of Defense (DoD) said a "high-altitude surveillance balloon" was first noticed over the state of Montana on Wednesday, having come in via Canada.
A Pentagon spokesperson said the government has taken steps to "protect against the collection of sensitive information." The DoD considered shooting the balloon down but decided against it "because of the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field." A DoD source said the balloon "has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective over and above what [China] can do through other means."
