A US Air Force (USAF) fighter shot down a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon on February 4, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III reported in a written statement.
President Joe Biden ordered the action on Wednesday, February 1, but it was delayed until the balloon was over the water off the coast of South Carolina to ensure no Americans on land were harmed.
“The balloon, which was being used by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in an attempt to surveil strategic locations on the continental United States, was shot down over US territorial waters,” Austin said.
The action was carried out in coordination and with the support of the Canadian government. “We thank Canada for its contribution to the monitoring and analysis of the globe through the [Mando Norteamericano de Defensa Aeroespacial] in transit through North America,” Austin said. “Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the security of the American people first, while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” declared Austin, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
US authorities first detected the balloon and its cargo on January 28, when it entered US airspace near the Aleutian Islands. The balloon passed through Alaska, Canada and re-entered US airspace over Idaho. “President Biden asked the military to present options, and on Wednesday, the president gave his authorization to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without risk to civilians in the path of the balloon,” a senior official said. defense . “Military commanders determined that there was a risk of debris causing harm to civilians while the balloon was on the ground.”
The mission
An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Va., fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon.
The balloon fell approximately six miles offshore in about 47 feet of water. There were no injuries.
Long before, US officials took steps to protect the globe from the collection of sensitive information, mitigating its intelligence value to the Chinese. The senior defense official said the recovery of the balloon would allow American analysts to examine sensitive Chinese equipment. “I would also like to note that while we took all necessary measures to protect against the collection of sensitive information by the PRC spy balloon, the overflight of the US territory surveillance balloon was of intelligence value to us,” the official said. “I can’t go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable.”
“The balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. Even so, their intrusion into US airspace for several days was an unacceptable violation of US sovereignty,” an official statement said. The official said Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the previous administration.
Although Chinese officials admitted the balloon was theirs, they said it was a runaway weather balloon. “The People’s Republic of China has publicly claimed that the high-altitude balloon flying over the United States is a weather balloon that went off course. This is false,” the official said. “It was a PRC surveillance balloon. This spy balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are certain that it was looking to monitor sensitive military sites.”
The mission now becomes recovery. Several US Navy and Coast Guard vessels are establishing a security perimeter around the area where the balloon came ashore. They are looking for remains, a senior military official said.
There is no estimate for how long the recovery mission will take, the military official said, but the fact that it fell in such a shallow area should make for a “fairly easy” recovery.
As has been learned, the F-22 fired the Sidewinder at the balloon from an altitude of 58,000 feet. The balloon was at that time between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.
F-15 Eagles flying out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, supported the F-22, as did tankers from several states, including Oregon, Montana, South Carolina and North Carolina. Canadian forces also helped track the flyby of the balloon.
The Navy has deployed the destroyer USS Oscar Austin, the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the USS Carter Hall, an amphibious landing ship in support of the operation.
Founded in 1982, Avion Revue Internacional is a leader in aeronautical information in Spanish. Since its inception it has reflected every aspect of aviation, from commercial to military aviation, through aerospace, history, technical and business aviation. Month after month, Avion Revue covers all the news and outstanding news from the world of aviation, both nationally and internationally, in Spain and Latin America.