US Military Reveals Size of Chinese Spy Balloon, Possible Explosives

U.S. Air Force General Glen VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, attends a hearing held by the House Armed Services Committee in Washington, on March 1, 2022. Win McNamee/Getty Images

U.S. Air Force General Glen VanHerck told reporters Monday that the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last weekend was hundreds of feet in diameter.

“The balloon assessment was up to 200 feet tall [and] it weighed a couple thousand pounds,” said VanHerck, the commander for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command, in a call with several reporters. He added that the balloon was potentially carrying explosives but had no evidence of it either, noting that there was a device hanging from the bottom that was about the size of a small jet.