Military officials are investigating a “large balloon and payload” discovered by fishermen off the coast of Alaska last week, the Department of Defense confirmed on Friday.
“A U.S. commercial fishing vessel recovered portions of … what appears to be a large balloon and payload caught in their nets while fishing off the coast of Alaska,” Sue Gough, a spokesperson for the Defense Department, said in an email.
The agency would not characterize the balloon as a spy or surveillance device.
The fishermen first reported the discovery to the Coast Guard, who asked them to hold the materiel on board until it could be collected by officials upon the boat’s return to port, Gough said.
In a statement, the FBI said it was aware of debris found off the coast of Alaska by a commercial fishing vessel and assisted partners in debris recovery.
They had no further comment as of Friday afternoon. The balloon is currently being analyzed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, around 9 miles northeast of Anchorage.
Officials do not know what the balloon was doing off the coast of Alaska, but hope to learn more through an analysis of the materiel, which will be carried out by multiple agencies, Gough said.
