U.S. tracking unidentified balloon off of Hawaiian coast

U.S. military authorities are reportedly tracking a high-altitude balloon that travelled past Hawaii and is currently en route toward Mexico, the Department of Defense confirmed Monday.

The unmanned aircraft is of unknown origin and authorities indicated they have seen no evidence it was being externally controlled, the Epoch Times reported.

A spokesperson for the DOD indicated that the balloon was not likely a threat to American security or civilians, saying "[t]he balloon did not transit directly over defense critical infrastructure or other U.S. Government sensitive sites, nor did it pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground." 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin insisted that "no action need be taken against the balloon," per the spokesperson.

The sighting of the aircraft comes in the wake of a string of aerial incursions by suspicious objects into U.S. airspace this year, among them a suspected Chinese spy balloon that authorities say was able to gather intelligence about sensitive U.S. military installations before the administration shot it down off the coast of the Carolinas.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.