US Stealth Jet Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off Carolinas
US Stealth Jet Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off Carolinas
They already got enough info for more precise nuke targeting, EMP targeting & other targeting. Uncle Sam's a day late dollar short. Again. What's new.
US Stealth Jet Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off Carolinas
BY TYLER DURDEN
SATURDAY, FEB 04, 2023 - 04:00 PM
Update (1600ET):
US defense officials confirmed to Fox News an F-22 stealth jet fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder that brought down the Chinese surveillance balloon. The F-22 was based out of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
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Update (1540ET):
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III released a statement about the Chinese surveillance balloon being shot down.
This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, US fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high-altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People's Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace. The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.
On Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon's path.
After careful analysis, US military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload. In accordance with the President's direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities. This action was taken in coordination, and with the full support, of the Canadian government. And we thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon through NORAD as it transited 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."
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Update (1441ET):
A US F-22 stealth jet has shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the Carolina coast.
The best view so far of the surveillance balloon being shot down.
More views of the F-22.
The balloon is falling back to Earth.
Here comes the recovery vessel.
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Update (1330ET):
Shortly after President Biden reportedly said, "we are going to take care of it," referring to the Chinese spy balloon that is calmly drifting across US airspace, the FAA has shut down three airports and closed airspace in parts of North and South Carolina:
Fighter jets are circling the spy balloon.
A US military surveillance plane is circling offshore of North Carolina.
A vessel with a large crane might be headed to an area where the military might shoot down the balloon.
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A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon appears to be heading toward North Carolina, according to ABC News, citing a senior US official familiar with the situation. That official said the US would probably shoot the balloon down over the Atlantic Ocean and retrieve it.
Within the last hour, numerous Twitter users have uploaded footage of what appears to be the Chinese balloon floating above North Carolina.
Chinese balloon over Shelby North Carolina at 9:35 AM. Moving west south west. pic.twitter.com/EEj8vGk6La
— Anne Eskridge (@AnneEskridge1) February 4, 2023
Local police tell residents don't shoot their guns at the giant balloon.
On Friday, we cited Capital Weather Gang, who accurately predicted the balloon's trajectory while it was floating above the Midwest. Now updated predictions for Saturday morning show the balloon might be headed toward the Atlantic.
The balloon's payload is approximately 90 feet long, or the length of two motorhomes, and the balloon itself is much larger. Here's one of the clearest views of the balloon.
And there might be more balloons. We noted last night:
"We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told Fox News Friday night. "We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon."
US officials have not ruled out shooting the balloon down. That might happen as soon as the balloon moves offshore into the Atlantic. Time for Space Force to shine.