A Chinese spy balloon has been traveling across the United States and part of Canada for a little less than a week. After consulting his military leaders, President Biden gave the order to shoot down the balloon. An F-22 Raptor shot down the Chinese balloon on Saturday, February 4, 2023, while it was over the Atlantic Ocean. [1]
Alaska
On January 28, 2023, the United States Northern Command was aware of the Chinese spy balloon flying over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. They, at first, thought it was one of China’s probes around American borders. [2] The balloon then went into Canadian territory and later came back down into Idaho on January 31st. On Wednesday, it was flying over Montana. The spy balloon continued its route through Kansas and Missouri to the east coast.
China’s Statement
China did say that the balloon was theirs but that it was just a rouge weather balloon. The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the following:
It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. [3]
They went on to say that the steering capability of the balloon was very low, so the balloon was off course.
U.S. Response
The United States saw the statement from the PRC but did not believe it. Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said,
We are aware of the PRC statement. The fact is we know it is a surveillance balloon… [4]
Feedback
On Wednesday, when the spy balloon was over Montana, the news was spreading about it. The Pentagon and officials were getting feedback to shoot the balloon down. On that day, Biden gave the order to shoot the balloon down once it was not in danger of hurting civilians. A senior defense official said the following:
President Biden gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon’s path… [5]
Shot Down
On Saturday, February 4, 2023, around 2:39 pm, the Chinese spy balloon was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean. Roughly seven miles from the South Carolina Coast, an F-22 Raptor fighter fired a Sidewinder missile at the balloon, which made it fall.
Recovery
The United States Navy and Coast Guard are working on recovering all the pieces of the balloon to do further research on them.
Notes:
- ^https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3288543/f-22-safely-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon-off-south-carolina-coast/ (go back ↩)
- ^https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/04/us/politics/chinese-spy-balloon-shot-down.html (go back ↩)
- ^https://www.theepochtimes.com/montana-authorities-address-massive-explosion-rumors-in-sky-where-chinese-spy-balloon-was-spotted_5033791.html?ea_src=ai&ea_med=search (go back ↩)
- ^https://www.theepochtimes.com/montana-authorities-address-massive-explosion-rumors-in-sky-where-chinese-spy-balloon-was-spotted_5033791.html?ea_src=ai&ea_med=search (go back ↩)
- ^F-22 Safely Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off South Carolina Coast (go back ↩)
