Photos of the recovery operation of the Chinese spy balloon shot down by the US military on Saturday were made public on Tuesday.
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Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 (EODGRU 2) recovered the balloon off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Sunday.
Courtesy Facebook/US Fleet Forces Command
“Active, Reserve, National Guard and civilian members planned and executed the operation, and partners from the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration and FBI provided security for the operation. the population throughout it”, can we read in the Facebook publication made on the page of the US Fleet Forces Command.
Debris from the balloon was floating on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, US Executive National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday.
Courtesy Facebook/US Fleet Forces Command
The latter also clarified, during an interview with the press, that the United States does not “intend to return” the debris collected to China.
Courtesy Facebook/US Fleet Forces Command
The balloon itself was about 60 meters high and carried a kind of basket weighing more than a ton, said General Glen VanHerck, chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), in a separate press briefing.
Courtesy Facebook/US Fleet Forces Command
The debris will be carefully studied, the general added.