(Dan Tri) – US military fighter jets shot down a hot air balloon suspected of being a Chinese spy device off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.
The Chinese airship fell after being shot down off the coast of South Carolina, USA (Photo: Reuters).
`We successfully shot down (the hot air balloon) and I want to praise our pilots for doing that,` US President Joe Biden announced on February 4.
President Biden said he ordered the balloon to be shot down on February 1.
According to a senior US military official, multiple fighter jets and refueling aircraft participated in the mission to shoot down the balloon, and F-22 fighter jets from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia
Officials said the balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the US coast, in relatively shallow waters, potentially aiding efforts to recover key parts of the surveillance device from debris.
The US shot down China’s `spy balloon`.
The shooting down occurred shortly after the US government ordered the suspension of flights to and from three South Carolina airports, including Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Charleston, due to `national security` issues.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also announced the shootdown, saying the balloon was used by China `in its efforts to monitor strategic locations in the continental United States.`
A Reuters photographer who witnessed the shoot-down said a stream of air came from the military plane and hit the balloon, but there was no explosion.
Previously, the Pentagon said an object suspected to be a Chinese reconnaissance balloon entered airspace in the northern United States and was believed to be moving over sensitive locations in the United States.
An object suspected to be a Chinese spy balloon appeared in the US
US officials assess this as a serious incident.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that it was only a civil balloon used for research purposes, mainly meteorological research.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that some politicians and media outlets in the US used the incident as an excuse to attack and defame China.
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