Pentagon Confirms U.S. Military Failed to Detect Chinese Spy Balloon Flights Over U.S.

The Pentagon has confirmed that the U.S. military failed to detect at least three Chinese spy balloon flights over the United States in recent years, but that this does not represent an intelligence failure.

At a news conference, General Pat Ryder said that the U.S. has gathered extensive information about the Chinese surveillance balloons over time and will be able to detect them in the future. He accused China of violating the sovereign airspace of the U.S. and other countries with what he called a global spy balloon program.

Sources told CNN and The Washington Post that the Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. military appears to be part of a broad surveillance program run by Beijing. The program, operated mostly out of China’s Hainan province by the country’s military, has for years also targeted Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, the Post reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

China has denied the balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina was used for spying purposes, saying its main objective was meteorological research. Similar balloons have been spotted across five continents, according to the outlets.

The Pentagon has said that the U.S. military will continue to monitor and collect information on Chinese surveillance balloons in order to detect and act on them in the future.