Washington [US], March 7: On March 7, CNN quoted US Department of Defense spokeswoman Sue Gough as saying that the agency was analyzing a strange hot air balloon discovered by fishermen off the coast of Alaska last week to see if it was a spy device. Are not.
This hot air balloon has now been brought to the Elmendorf-Richardson base in Alaska .
"We do not know why the balloon was in the waters off Alaska and do not intend to characterize it at this time, but hope to learn more about its origin and purpose after analysis." more in-depth on materials, will be conducted by multiple agencies," according to Ms. Gough.
This is the first time the Pentagon has publicly confirmed that the device discovered by the fishermen was a hot air balloon.
Last week, CNN reported that fishermen notified authorities after discovering a suspicious object. After reviewing images taken by fishermen, officials were concerned that this could be a reconnaissance balloon and FBI agents came to pick them up when the fishing boat returned to port.
At the time, it was unclear what the object was and officials were unsure whether it was a hot air balloon. But the FBI determined that it resembled a spy balloon owned by a foreign government, so further investigation was needed.
The existence of high-altitude reconnaissance balloons came to the attention of the United States last year, when a Chinese balloon appeared to veer off course and passed over the continental United States, through Alaskan airspace.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
