The Pentagon is reportedly tracking a Chinese spy balloon spotted over Billings, Montana.
According to reports, the balloon has been floating over Montana for days, and there has not been an order to shoot it down.
HAPPENING NOW: Three US air force planes circling over northern Montana where the Pentagon has found a massive Chinese spy balloon. https://t.co/oGjb6tkpTE pic.twitter.com/57rADafYl9
— Upward News (@UpwardNewsHQ) February 2, 2023
Chinese spy balloon tracked over continental US: Pentagon https://t.co/h36Brg9QuZ pic.twitter.com/18uuXQdRiS
— New York Post (@nypost) February 3, 2023
Under Biden:
Pentagon tracks Chinese Spy Balloon for days over US & does NOT shoot it down.
Abandons Americans & $85 billion in US military equipment & arms in Afghanistan.
Won’t secure our border- 5+ million people invade.
The Biden admin is impotent.https://t.co/QUIDAUfOzx
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 3, 2023
“Biden should shoot down the Chinese spy balloon immediately. President Trump would have never tolerated this. President Trump would have never tolerated many things happening to America,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted.
Biden should shoot down the Chinese spy balloon immediately.
President Trump would have never tolerated this.
President Trump would have never tolerated many things happening to America.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 2, 2023
RawsAlerts shared footage of the suspected Chinese spy balloon.
🚨#BREAKING: More video of the Chinese spy balloon⁰
📌#Montana | #USAMore video is coming out as
The Chinese high altitude surveillance balloon was seen over Billings Montana yesterday.
The size of balloon is three buses wide and has been flying over the Northern U.S. for days pic.twitter.com/4iUVvJQCG8— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) February 2, 2023
“It was just confirmed that the Chinese government currently has a spy balloon flying over the US which shut down the air space over Billings yesterday. This is footage from our reporter Travia outside the @KULR NBC studios of the balloon,” said reporter Bradley Warren.
It was just confirmed that the Chinese government currently has a spy balloon flying over the US which shut down the air space over Billings yesterday. This is footage from our reporter Travia outside the @KULR NBC studios of the ballon. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/uhjVeLk69C
— Bradley Warren (@bradmwarren) February 2, 2023
News Nation reported:
“This comes as the president of the Montana senate introduced legislation to block the Chinese government from being able to buy in Montana. (Which they have been doing) @KennethBogner said at this moment it’s unclear how much land they own,” Warren added.
“I spoke with @KennethBogner yesterday regarding the purchase of the land in the state of Montana- he says that he has put in a records request to get exact numbers.”
WATCH:
I spoke with @KennethBogner yesterday regarding the purchase of the land in the state of Montana- he says that he has put in a records request to get exact numbers. pic.twitter.com/ea9fykVZFN
— Bradley Warren (@bradmwarren) February 2, 2023
According to the Billings Gazette, the suspected Chinese spy balloon “shut down air traffic and brought fighter jets.”
“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” said Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder. “The U.S. government continues to track and monitor it closely.”
“Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years,” Ryder added. “Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.”
Word of something unusual in the skies over Billings first spread Wednesday afternoon when a “ground stop” was placed on regional airports, including Billings. No flights, including commercial air traffic, could land or depart in a 50-mile radius that included the Billings airport.
WATCH:
Pentagon officials say they are monitoring a suspected Chinese spy balloon that's been flying at high altitudes over the U.S. It comes just as Secretary Blinken is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. pic.twitter.com/jwuNnVuLBm
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 2, 2023
"What the heck is that!? That's not the sun and according to my planet guide, it's not a planet."
The State Department has summoned China’s charge d’affaires in Washington, “to deliver a very clear and stark message,” after detecting Chinese spy balloon.pic.twitter.com/CzchbSMP5h
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 3, 2023
Jesse Watters questions why Canada didn't alert the US about the Chinese spy balloon:
"Trudeau is probably too worried about the truckers." pic.twitter.com/2MvlVLJgYR
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 3, 2023
The New York Post reported:
The US has been tracking a Chinese spy balloon that has been floating over the northern part of the country for days, Pentagon officials announced Thursday.
A top Pentagon official said the US is confident that the craft is a Chinese high-altitude balloon that has been flying over sensitive sites to collect information for the past two days.
The official, speaking anonymously, said that one of the locations the balloon has been spotted was over Montana — home to one of the US’ three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Fighter jets — including F-22s – were prepared to shoot the balloon down at the White House’s orders, but the Pentagon recommended against it out of safety concerns for civilians on the ground, despite the balloon being over a remote area of Montana, the official said.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters in a brief statement that 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.”
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