A Chinese spy balloon was spotted over US airspace in 2023
Commercial fishermen have found what they believe to be a spy balloon off the coast of Alaska.
The fishermen were instructed to bring the wreckage to shore and meet FBI agents waiting in port.
CNN reported:
Commercial fishermen off the coast of Alaska found what officials feared was another spy balloon and brought it ashore, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
FBI agents will meet the fishing vessel when it arrives in port, which is expected to be sometime over the weekend. The bureau will then transport the unidentified object to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis, as was done with previous surveillance balloons.
Sources said the hunters shared photos of the object with law enforcement authorities when confronted. The three sources confirmed that it was not clear exactly what the object was and that it may not be a balloon at all — but the FBI decided it was similar enough in appearance to a surveillance balloon owned by a foreign government that it was further justified. investigation.
The FBI said in a statement Friday night that it was “aware of the wreckage found by a commercial fishing vessel off the coast of Alaska.” We will work with our partners to assist with the logistics of recovering the wreck.
Last January, the Biden administration learned about the Chinese spy balloon crossing the United States continent, from Alaska to the Carolinas, but it sought to hide this from the American public.
A newspaper photographer first spotted the balloon over Montana.
A Chinese spy balloon entered US airspace for the first time over Alaska in late January 2023.
The balloon flew over nuclear silos and military installations across the United States with the full approval of Joe Biden.
The balloon was eventually shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Carolina.
According to the Pentagon, the spy balloon carried explosives to self-detonate, was 200 feet long, and weighed thousands of pounds.
It was recently reported that General Milley also knew that the spy balloon was collecting data while flying over the continental United States, but concealed this from the American public.
According to CNN, the Chinese spy balloon used the US internet to communicate as it flew over the US and collect information.
Last month, the US military tracked a balloon high above Colorado. The Pentagon sent planes to investigate. It turned out to be an amateur balloon.
