US Military Tracking 'Small Balloon' Over Western States

U.S. fighter jets are tracking a balloon traveling at high altitudes over the western United States, but officials said there is no danger to anyone either on the ground or in the air. Fighter jets were sent to intercept the balloon over the state of Utah and "Determined it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security," according to a NORAD statement. NORAD said it will continue to track the balloon and that it is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration "To ensure flight safety." As of late Friday, the FAA "Also determined the balloon posed no hazard" to passenger jets or other planes in the area, NORAD said. The U.S. military has been watching the skies in and around the United States more closely following the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon that transited the country in February 2023. Chinese officials said that balloon was designed to research weather and had "Deviated from its planned course." But the Pentagon rejected those assertions, saying the balloon had been designed for surveillance. The U.S. eventually shot down the Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina, after it had traveled across much of the continental United States.