The Pentagon is tracking a large Chinese surveillance balloon as it flies over the continental United States. The white balloon is roughly the size of three buses and is flying an altitude of around 60,000 feet. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has claimed it is being used for meteorological purposes, but the U.S. government has raised suspicion that it is an act of espionage.

The balloon was first seen on February 3, 2023 at around 4:21 p.m. ET in Reed Point, Montana. Over the next several hours, it was filmed moving east through Billings and South Dakota and Nebraska, before reaching Sabetha, Kansas and Saint Joseph, Missouri. By 11:56 a.m. ET, it had advanced to Lee's Summit, Missouri, and it is now heading towards North Carolina.

Several civilians have shared footage of the balloon, posting their sightings and speculation of the