The US shot down the balloon over the Atlantic.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington The United States says it shot down a Chinese spy balloon off its southeast coast. “This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, US warplanes (…) successfully downed the People’s Republic of China-launched and owned surveillance balloon at high altitude over the waters off the coast of South Carolina in American airspace,” US said -Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Saturday. The United States accused China of espionage with the balloon, which Beijing firmly denied.
The US Department of Defense made the sighting of the Chinese balloon public for the first time on Thursday evening. The balloon had been sighted over the US state of Montana. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the intrusion of the “surveillance balloon” into US airspace “unacceptable” and “irresponsible”. China, on the other hand, spoke of a research balloon that had gone off course due to “force majeure”. The fact that the balloon flew near the US Air Force base in Montana, where ICBMs equipped with nuclear warheads are stored, also caused a stir in the USA.
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Austin said Biden had already given the go-ahead on Wednesday, as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to human life. After careful analysis, it was concluded that launching the balloon over land would be too dangerous due to the size and height of the balloon and its load. It was therefore decided to shoot down the balloon safely over US territorial waters. The measure was carried out in cooperation with Canada.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had previously restricted air traffic in the US states of North and South Carolina “due to national security measures”. The Chinese balloon, which according to US information is a spy tool, was last sighted on the Atlantic coast. TV images and eyewitness videos on Saturday showed a white balloon being launched.
Balloons are considered important observation platforms. Unlike satellites, they can stay in one place and don’t have to make a new orbit around the earth to take more pictures, experts say. You could observe from a closer distance, are difficult to detect for radar. They could also intercept communications. The navigation options are significantly improved today, so that they no longer depend solely on the wind.
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