When China’s suspected surveillance balloon first passed over US airspace north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on January 28, US officials believed there was a good chance it was following a northern trajectory over sparsely populated areas. But will keep traveling.
But two days later the balloon did something unexpected: It slowed down, almost hovering over Canada. It then changed course and headed south on a new trajectory that would eventually take it to the US state of Idaho, officials said.
“That’s when we knew it was different,” said a US official on condition of anonymity.
Officials said Chinese spy balloons have entered US territory in the past, but the manner in which this one maneuvered, headed towards sensitive US sites, raised alarm at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The United States operates a military base and nuclear missile silo in the state of Montana, bordering Idaho.
The appearance of the Chinese balloon sparked a political uproar in the United States and prompted top US diplomat Antony Blinken to cancel a February 5-6 visit to Beijing that the two countries had hoped would stabilize their rocky ties.
President Joe Biden called for military options on Tuesday to deal with the growing – but still undeclared – crisis.
Military officials developed a plan Wednesday to shoot down the balloon as it was flying over Montana.
Planning progressed to the point where the Billings airport issued a ground stop on Wednesday to clear nearby airspace as the military mobilized F-22 fighter jets after Biden ordered the balloon shot down.
“Even with those protective measures in place, it was the decision of our military commanders that we didn’t mitigate the risk, so we didn’t take the shot,” a senior US defense official told reporters on Thursday.
Another US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said debris would have fallen within a radius of at least seven miles (11 km), posing a fatal risk to Americans and potentially damage to infrastructure.
Officials concluded that the best and safest option instead was to move the balloon over water, a move that could also help US intelligence recover Chinese equipment for study.