Advertisement

Updated February 5th, 2023 at 01:55 IST

WATCH: Chinese spy balloon shot down by US fighter jets

US officials have confirmed that the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was flying over the skies of Montana on Friday has been downed by Air Force fighter jets

Reported by: Digital Desk
Chinese Spy Balloon Shot down
Image Credit: @EliteDevon | Image:self
Advertisement

US officials have confirmed that the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was flying over the skies of Montana on Friday has been downed by Air Force fighter aircraft.

A number of videos shared on social media appeared to capture the moment the balloon went down. At the time it was shot down, the balloon was flying over Myrtle beach on the Carolina coast. China has conceded that it is indeed its balloon but not that it is conducting surveillance, rather that it was blown off course due to wind.

As per AP, an operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover debris from the balloon, which had been flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be about the size of three school buses. The balloon was downed by Air Force fighter aircraft, according to two officials who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

President Joe Biden had told reporters earlier Saturday that “we’re going to take care of it,” when asked about the balloon. The Federal Aviation Administration and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.

Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon descending toward the water. U.S. military jets were seen flying in the vicinity and ships were deployed in the water to mount the recovery operation.

Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much of the debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any debris field would be substantial.

The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the coast. In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions.

The Coast Guard advised mariners to immediately leave the area because of U.S. military operations “that present a significant hazard.”

Biden had been inclined to down the balloon over land when he was first briefed on it on Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed the assessment of potential Chinese intelligence gains.

The public disclosure of the balloon this week prompted the cancellation of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing scheduled for Sunday for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.

“In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.

China has continued to claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The balloon was spotted over Montana, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.

Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.

(With AP inputs)

Advertisement

Published February 5th, 2023 at 01:50 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Rajinikanth in Thalaivar 171 poster
a few seconds ago
Sawai Man Singh Stadium
2 minutes ago
Credit Card score
5 minutes ago
4 Illegal Migrants On Way To Assam From Delhi Arrested In UP
6 minutes ago
Mandi Lok Sabha seat Pratibha Singh
10 minutes ago
Platinum Industries IPO
11 minutes ago
PV Sindhu makes winning return in BATC 2024
22 minutes ago
Nitin Menon and Anil Chaudhary
26 minutes ago
Hardik Pandya
26 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo