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Americans on Saturday reporting seeing the large Chinese balloon suspected of conducting surveillance as it drifted over the Southern U.S. Hours later, it was shot out of the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.
TV footage showed the moment the balloon appeared to be hit and began its descent toward the water.
The balloon was downed after it passed into U.S. territorial waters, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. It carried a large payload of spy gear according to U.S. officials, and had soared over several strategic sites, including nuclear missile silos as it crossed a huge swath of the U.S.
Earlier in the day, people had used cell phones and professional cameras to document the balloon’s trajectory. The balloon was spotted over Montana earlier this week.
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Video shows Chinese balloon being shot down
Footage on TV and captured by onlookers appears to show aircraft over the Atlantic firing at the spy balloon. After a small explosion, debris could be seen slowly floating down toward the ocean.
U.S. military jets were seen flying in the vicinity and ships were deployed in the water to mount the recovery operation.
Senior Pentagon officials briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity said F-22 warplanes from Virginia and F-15s from Massachusetts were scrambled to down the balloon after it passed the coastline of South Carolina. A single AIM 9X sidewinder air-to-air missile was fired and struck the balloon at 2:39 p.m. EDT, officials said.
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The debris landed in about 47 feet of water, a relatively shallow site that a salvage ship and divers will investigate in the coming days. Debris could scatter over about a 7 mile radius. No people or vessels were struck.
Source:USA