By Courtney Kube, Mosheh Gains and Megan Lebowitz -
NBC News
The US military is monitoring an unidentified “small” balloon flying at high altitude over the west of the country, according to two US officials and a defense official.
A fighter jet was sent to observe the device after it was spotted
over Utah on Friday morning
.
The balloon, which flies overhead at an altitude of between 43,000 and 45,000 feet, does not appear to pose a threat to U.S. national security, according to officials.
Interior of the NORAD complex on Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on May 11, 2004.Getty Images
The United States has not said who owns the balloon, but two officials said early indications suggest it is not owned by a foreign government.
The balloon is not maneuverable and has a small cargo shaped like a box, officials explained.
NBC News has contacted the White House for comment.
A National Security Council official referred NBC to the Department of Defense for an official comment.
“NORAD will continue to track and monitor the balloon
,” said a defense official, referring to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
“The FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] also determined that the balloon did not pose any danger to aviation safety.
“NORAD remains in close coordination with the FAA to ensure flight safety.”
The flying object, first reported by CBS News, was sighted about a year after the United States shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon in February 2023. NBC News previously reported that the spy balloon was able to pick up intelligence from multiple military sites
important companies in the United States, and that he used an American internet service provider to communicate, according to multiple sources.
Chinese government representatives had denied that last year's balloon had been used for spying.
Instead, they said the balloon was a civilian device used for meteorological research that strayed unintentionally toward the United States.