The US government is tracking a high-altitude balloon between 43000 and 45000 feet of unknown origin and the authorities insist that it is not a threat to the security.
The balloon was determined to be “not manoeuvrable” and poses no threat to national security, the North American Aerospace Defense Command told The New York Post on Friday.
The US airspace watchdog described the balloon as “small” and said its fighter jets intercepted the balloon over Utah.
“NORAD will continue to track and monitor the balloon,” the military agency said in a statement. “The FAA also determined the balloon posed no hazard to flight safety.”
The purpose of the balloon is unclear.
US officials told CBS News, which first reported on the balloon’s presence over US airspace, that it was flying over Colorado earlier on Friday and drifting in an easterly direction, following the path of the jetstream.
The appearance of the latest ballon over the US mainland comes just over a year after US Air Force F-22 fighter jets shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast after it had traversed the continental US over several days.
The craft made multiple passes over key US military installations before it was shot down.
官員稱，美國西部上空發現一個來歷不明的小型高空氣球，但對國家不構成威脅
美國政府正在43000至45000英尺之間追蹤一個來歷不明的高空氣球，當局堅稱它不會對安全構成威脅。
北美防空司令部週五告訴《紐約郵報》，該氣球被確定為“不可操縱”，不會對國家安全構成威脅。
美國空域監管機構稱該氣球“很小”，並表示其戰鬥機在猶他州上空攔截了該氣球。
「北美防空司令部將繼續追蹤和監視氣球，」該軍事機構在一份聲明中表示。 “美國聯邦航空局還確定該氣球不會對飛行安全構成威脅。”
氣球的用途尚不清楚。
美國官員告訴哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞，該新聞於週五早些時候飛越科羅拉多州，並沿著急流的路徑向東漂移。哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞最先報導了該氣球在美國領空的存在。
最新氣球出現在美國大陸上空僅一年多前，美國空軍 F-22 戰鬥機在南卡羅來納州海岸擊落了一個中國間諜氣球，該氣球經過幾天的時間穿越了美國大陸。
在被擊落之前，這架飛機多次飛越美國重要軍事設施。
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