Here We Go Again: Military Tracking High-Altitude Balloon Over US

One year after a Chinese spy balloon drifted over the continental US for several days and was blown apart off the coast of South Carolina with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile by a fifth-generation fighter jet, a new report from CBS News indicates the US military is tracking a high-altitude balloon flying over the Western part of the country. 

Sources familiar with the matter said the balloon was drifting towards the eastern part of the country on Friday. The balloon was over Colorado earlier in the day. This has so far led the military to dispatch reconnaissance aircraft to investigate. There is no word on the balloon’s origin. 

🚨 #BREAKING: The US government is reported to be tracking a “high altitude balloon” that was spotted by military planes, and is currently flying over Colorado.

Are we really doing this AGAIN?

They have not disclosed the origin or purpose of the balloon, but this is ODDLY… pic.twitter.com/TzuHeydTZS

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 23, 2024

On Feb. 4, 2023, a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. The balloon drifted over the US for days, becoming a major headache for President Biden, who faced criticism from Republicans for allowing it to float across the country. 

Looking at Bloomberg data, the number of “spy balloon” mentions in corporate media headlines erupted in early February last year. It was a media frenzy, and Americans were fixated on one thing for weeks: a Chinese spy balloon. 

Is this another distraction?