By @itsbriannat

This past Saturday, the U.S. Military recently shot down and recovered a Chinese spy balloon which has been making its way across the country at a high altitude for the past couple of days. Originally spotted over Billings, Montana on Wednesday, they claim it is a part of a large-scale surveillance program implemented by the Chinese military.

This surveillance balloon is described by U.S. officials as 200 ft tall, roughly estimated to be the size of about three school buses, and likely weighing thousands of pounds.

It is believed that this monumental balloon may be a part of a larger fleet of similar balloons, of which there seem to be multiple variations, spanning over five continents. However, according to Chinese officials, this was simply a mistake as the balloon was merely a weather device that was blown off course.

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, this serves as a violation of “the sovereignty of countries across five continents”.

Upon recovering this balloon, elite FBI engineers are closely studying its remnants and trying to gather information about what it has gathered during its transit over the country and how they may be more vigilant about tracking more of these down in the future.

Blinken states that any “relevant findings” will be shared with the US Congress as well as with allies and partners around the world.