The balloon is at an altitude of about 60,000 feet, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said during a press briefing this afternoon. For context, many commercial airliners typically travel at 33,000 to 42,000 feet. Reuters points out that fighter jets can’t usually exceed 65,000 feet.
There’s a lot of warranted skepticism about the Pentagon’s claims that shooting down the balloon over Montana would cause loss of life and property destruction. Many GOP lawmakers are already questioning the decision not to down the balloon, and the Wall Street Journal reported that President Biden initially wanted to shoot it down.
Some analysts pointed out that the trade-offs involved in shooting down an object at high altitude — before this afternoon’s briefing, some estimates had it at about 80,000 feet — are too significant to make it an attractive option:
If we decide to shoot it down it could be embarrassing. If it's above 80,000 ft, as reported, Patriot can't reach it. AMRAAM from a fighter at max altitude probably could, but we could miss. Either way we'll spend millions shooting down a balloon that costs a fraction.
— John Culver (@JohnCulver689) February 3, 2023
There remain many unanswered questions, but an immediate one is what difference in trade-off calculations 20,000 feet might make. At 60,000 feet, the Pentagon seems to have a few more options.