National security experts believe the Chinese spy balloon which recently traversed the continental United States was a curveball for officials charged with guarding military secrets and a test for American responses to unconventional threats.

Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder announced on Thursday that the military observed “a high altitude surveillance balloon” above the nation. The vessel crossed Montana, the home of several defense assets and missile silos, then traveled over states such as Kansas and Missouri before the object was shot down off the coast of the Carolinas.