Concerns have grown that China could reach the wreckage of its crashed spy balloon before the US Navy, as a salvage ship, is absent for days.
U.S. officials confirmed that an F-22 Raptor fighter jet shot down the balloon six miles off the coast of South Carolina at 2:38 p.m. Saturday using a single AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
A senior military adviser told Fox News that the debris field was about seven miles wide and the water depth was estimated at 47 feet.
While several Navy and Coast Guard vessels are in the area to set up a security and search area, the senior adviser said an official recovery vessel would not arrive for a few days.
There is currently no timeline for the balloon’s recovery from the Atlantic after its presence shocked the nation as it hovered over several nuclear silos before sinking.
US Navy and Coast Guard ships secure the perimeter off the coast of South Carolina where a fighter jet downed a Chinese spy balloon (pictured)
Officials said the first spy balloon to fly over the United States crashed into about 47-foot-deep water six miles off the South Carolina coast. They noted that a suitable salvage vessel will not be on site for days as the race to secure the wreck is on
Footage of the jet shooting down the balloon showed the plane screaming at it before firing a rocket, while stunned locals looked on from the shore.
President Joe Biden praised the Top Gun fighter jet pilot who shot him down, telling reporters, “I ordered the Pentagon to shoot him down as quickly as possible on Wednesday without harming anyone on the ground.
“They decided the best time to do it was when it was afloat.”
“They successfully shot it down, and I want to compliment our Airmen who pulled it off,” the President added as he disembarked from Air Force One at Hagerstown Regional Airport, Maryland, en route to Camp David.
The Pentagon confirmed: “The balloon used by the People’s Republic of China in an attempt to patrol strategic locations in the continental United States has been brought down over US territorial waters.”
Defense officials estimated that the balloon was about the size of three buses and that the debris field would be significant.
At around 1:30 p.m., jets were seen near the balloon after a source revealed defense officials were planning a launch and capture mission
Biden (aboard Air Force One in Syracuse, NY this morning) told reporters, “I told them to shoot it down Wednesday. They said to me let’s wait for the safest place to do it.
FULL STATEMENT BY PENTAGON:
This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, US warplanes assigned to the US Northern Command successfully brought down the high-altitude-launched People’s Republic of China (PRC) surveillance balloon over the water off the coast of South Carolina in the US airspace.
The balloon, used by the PRC in an attempt to patrol strategic locations in the continental United States, was brought down over US territorial waters.
On Wednesday, President Biden gave his approval to dismantle the surveillance balloon once the mission can be conducted without undue risk to the lives of Americans under the balloon’s path.
After careful analysis, US military commanders had determined that launching the balloon over land posed an unreasonable risk to people in a wide area due to the size and height of the balloon and its surveillance payload.
In accordance with the President’s instructions, the Department of Defense was developing options to safely bring the balloon down over our territorial waters while closely monitoring its path and intelligence-gathering activities.
This action was taken in coordination with and with the full support of the Government of Canada. And we thank Canada for its contribution to NORAD’s tracking and analysis of the balloon as it traversed North America.
Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.
Biden first became aware of the balloon last Sunday, January 28, when it was sighted over Alaska. The US military tracked it over Canadian airspace and as it reentered US territory on Tuesday.
The following day, Biden received a detailed report on the plane and its course, attended by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
Biden originally wanted to dismantle it, but Milley and Austin argued the risk from falling debris was too great, sources revealed.
Meanwhile, the administration went to the Chinese embassy for a statement and continued preparations for Blinken’s landmark diplomatic visit.
The administration finally made the announcement Thursday after a local Montana newspaper, the Billings Gazette, published photos of the balloon.
The Biden administration’s attempts to hide the blatant violation of US airspace from the public for nearly a week and its inaction amid threats to national security have infuriated Republicans.
“Communist China’s surveillance balloon violates international law and threatens our homeland,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) told the New York Post.
“It is an outrage that the Biden administration spotted this balloon flying over the Aleutian Islands days ago and did nothing about it,” she said. “The President has not even commented on this unacceptable act of CCP aggression.”
The emergence of the spy plane follows a secret report to Congress that detailed advanced new technology that US opponents were using to spy on the country.
Last month’s report mentioned at least two incidents of a rival power conducting aerial surveillance using seemingly unknown cutting-edge technology, sources told The New York Times.
Although the report did not specifically single out any country, two US officials familiar with the investigation named China.
The two locations where the unusual surveillance was spotted included a military base in the United States and another abroad.
Since 2021, the Pentagon has investigated 366 unexplained incidents and determined that 163 involved balloons.
A handful of these are advanced surveillance balloons, a US official told the Times.
A U.S. defense official said the balloon was the size of several buses — but it posed no immediate threat to Americans. The balloon, pictured over Montana, was tracked for several days but officials decided to use it for fear of debris not shoot down. China claims it is a civilian airship used for meteorological research
China’s Foreign Ministry said it regretted the balloon accidentally entered US airspace and claimed it was a civilian aircraft
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims he told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon through the US was “an irresponsible act and that[China’s]decision to take that action on the eve of my visit was damaging.” for the US were factual discussions that we were ready for.”
China’s foreign ministry said in a statement, “In fact, the US and China have never announced a visit. The US making such an announcement is their own business and we respect that.”
According to Beijing, Wang said China has always strictly adhered to international law, we do not accept groundless speculation and hype. In the face of unexpected situations, both parties must remain calm, communicate in good time, avoid misjudgments and manage differences.”
China’s Foreign Ministry said the balloon “seriously deviated from the planned route” and expressed regret that “the airship strayed to the United States due to force majeure,” claiming it was for scientific research “such as meteorology.” been used – something the Pentagon denied.
The Chinese surveillance balloon is estimated to be about three buses wide. The balloon is equipped with solar panels to power onboard equipment, which may include long-range cameras and radar. It was flying at about 60,000 feet as of Friday afternoon, but the balloons may be about twice that
The balloon’s discovery, which sparked alarms in the White House and Pentagon, adds to a series of recent controversies that have further strained strained relations between China and the United States.
Beijing had urged calm while it established the “facts” before saying in a statement yesterday morning the balloon was a weather research device that had “deviated widely from its planned course”.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it regretted that the balloon accidentally entered US airspace.