An unidentified object has been sighted in the sky over Montana, a Republican state congressman said Sunday.
Shortly before that, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary restriction on commercial aircraft flying over another part of the country in northern Michigan, before lifting it less than an hour later.
The chaos comes as American officials and residents alike were unnerved after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina last weekend – but not before crossing several US states at an altitude low enough to be barefoot eye to be seen.
GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale announced Saturday that he was briefed on one such developing incident, although North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) officials later said it was a false alarm.
But according to the Montana Conservative’s latest update, the situation could be more serious than it seemed.
Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale said he spoke to officials Sunday about an unidentified object in his state’s airspace
It comes after previous updates he posted on Saturday night about the sighting of an unidentified object
“I am in constant communication with NORCOM and they just let me know that they have faith that an object EXISTED and WAS NOT an anomaly,” Rosendale wrote on Twitter.
“I’m now waiting for visual confirmation. The security of our nation is my priority.”
reached out to NORAD for comment but was referred to the agency’s earlier public statements. A later request sent on Rosendale’s last post was not immediately answered.
The Pentagon also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Rosendale’s claim.
Democratic Montana Senator Jon Tester said Sunday he was in touch with defense officials regarding Saturday night’s developments, but didn’t offer any new updates himself.
“I continue to receive regular updates from the Pentagon and our intelligence community as we closely monitor American airspace in light of last night’s developments. I will continue to hold them accountable so the public gets the answers it deserves,” Tester said.
The moderate senator previously told CBS News’ Face The Nation that he was still aware of something developing in Montana airspace.
“I believe the investigation is ongoing as we speak,” Tester said.
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, USA, on February 4, 2023
“The truth is there was an anomaly and they investigated. I think it got dark last night so they couldn’t fully verify. I’m sure it’s being checked as we speak.”
He summed up the uncertainty: “There might be something else out there. It can be a false alarm.’
If there is indeed an unknown or malicious object in Montana airspace, Tester suspects it will be shot down by the military.
It’s not immediately clear what the object is or where it’s coming from, but Americans have been on high alert since the downing of China’s spy balloon last weekend prompted a flurry of revelations about Beijing’s extensive global surveillance program.
Defense officials said they were able to gain valuable insight into China’s spy balloon program by examining the device as it drifted across the country while avoiding shooting it down over the continental US and risking injury to Americans on the ground.
The US believes China has conducted this program in 40 countries to learn more about other nations’ surveillance capabilities.
It is not clear if this recent incident in Montana is related to the balloon.
On the object sighted over Montana Saturday night, @SenatorTester says his “guess” is that it will be shot down after “the military made an assessment of possible collateral damage, just like they did with the Chinese spy balloon.” pic.twitter.com/DCUbU6ZfWU
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) February 12, 2023
The possible sighting in Montana Saturday night led to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifting a temporary restriction on airspace in the area, but it was lifted later that night.
Rosendale tweeted for the first time that evening that airspace over Havre, Indiana and the surrounding area was “closed due to an object that may disrupt commercial air traffic.”
“DOD will resume efforts to monitor and ground the object in the morning,” lawmakers added.
He later released an update that air travel had resumed.
NORAD later confirmed in a statement that it temporarily suspended air service in central Montana in coordination with the FAA, but downplayed the incident as a misidentification.
“NORAD spotted a radar anomaly and dispatched warplanes to investigate,” the statement said.
“These aircraft did not identify any object that could be correlated with the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation.’