"Anonymous spy balloon fly over USA”

The United States is currently investigating a high-altitude balloon discovered this week over Montana to determine whether it belongs to Beijing.

A senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday that the Defense Department was "confident" that it was, in fact, a Chinese surveillance balloon.

The payload of the balloon — that is, the part under the balloon conducting the surveillance — is the size of two to three school buses, and the balloon itself is much larger, according to a U.S. official.

According to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry, the airship was "affected by the westerly wind" and its ability to control its direction "is limited." The statement also says that the balloon "seriously deviated from the scheduled route" and expressed regret that "the airship strayed into the United States due to force majeure."

The United States government is investigating a high-altitude balloon that was spotted in Montana this week, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry. The statement says the airship was "affected by the westerly wind" and its ability to control its direction was "limited." The statement also says that the balloon "seriously deviated from the scheduled route" and expressed regret that it strayed into the United States due to force majeure.

According to a senior defense official, the payload of the balloon — that is, the part under the balloon conducting surveillance — is about as large as two to three school buses. The balloon itself is much larger, according to a U.S. official.

The discovery comes on top of news earlier this week that China had conducted an exercise in which it deployed airborne drones near Alaska and other areas along its coastlines—a move some analysts have said could be part of China's preparations for war with the West or against rival powers like Japan or India.

In a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry, it was acknowledged Friday that the high-altitude balloon spotted over Montana belongs to Beijing. The airship has been described as "a civilian device," according to China's defense ministry. A senior defense official told CBS News on Thursday that they were "confident" that it was a Chinese surveillance balloon.

The payload of the balloon — that is, the part under the balloon conducting the surveillance — is the size of two to three school buses, and the balloon itself is much larger than that, according to a U.S. official.

The U.S. Department of Defense has stated its confidence in its assessment that this was a Chinese surveillance balloon, but they are still waiting on further confirmation from their allies before they can say for sure what it is or why it's there.

A Chinese surveillance balloon that was spotted over Montana and Wyoming this week is not the first time Beijing has flown a high-altitude balloon into U.S. airspace. In 2015, another balloon came dangerously close to landing in Washington state and even briefly entered Canadian airspace.

In response to the latest incident, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement Friday that "the United States has been clear that we expect China to be transparent about its activities." She added that Washington will take "appropriate steps" if China's behavior continues, without offering further details.

A Defense Department official told CBS News on Thursday that the U.S. military is confident it knows what type of surveillance balloon was launched over Montana and Wyoming — but did not offer any other details about the incident or its origins. The official also said that if China decides to conduct similar flights again, the U.S. military will respond as appropriate based on their intelligence reports and other information about potential threats from Chinese drones or aircraft near U.S. territory or maritime borders with China's coastlines