Unidentified balloon intercepted over Utah raises security concerns

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — American fighter planes intercepted an unidentified balloon flying over Utah on Friday.Military officials determined that the balloon was not a threat.

Particularly after the Chinese spy balloon moved through the U.S., a report of an unidentified balloon object flying at altitude over the United States is going to prompt obvious national security concerns,” said Kris Van Cleave, CS News Senior Transportation Correspondent.

The Chinese spy balloon, which was spotted in Feb. 2023, slowly drifted over the length of the continental U.S. before it was shot down on Feb. 4 by an Air Force F-22 off the coast of the Carolinas. It accelerated conversations around the nation about the increasingly strained relationship with the People’s Republic of China and the one-party state apparatus, the Chinese Communist Party.

The most recent balloon was not sent by a foreign adversary, but it raised concerns because it was similar to the one shot down last year, according to officials.

North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, fighters scrambled after detecting the balloon flying at an attitude around 44,000 feet.

“Fighters met the balloon over Utah,” Van Cleave said. “We have sources that tell us a short time later it was tracked over Colorado and it was on pace to Georgia later tonight.”

The FAA says it did not impact flight safety.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox released a statement saying he’s been in touch with local military officials and will monitor the situation.

The jet stream was really pushing this balloon,” Van Cleave said. “We understand from sources that it’s a mylar balloon it’s carrying about a 2 foot cube of a box.”

According to the Associated Press, spokesperson John Cornelio says NORAD is continuing to work in close coordination with the FAA to track and monitor the balloon.

“It sounds like the big picture concerns at the moment have been satisfied by whatever assessment those fighters made because it was deemed not a threat,” Van Cleave said. “If it was deemed a threat, NORAD would be authorized to down it.”

NORAD has not revealed the balloon's origin or why it was flying over Utah.