THE CHINESE BALLOON WAS SHOT DOWN BY THE U.S. MILITARY FEBRUARY 04, 2023
FEBRUARY 04, 2023
Remarks by President Biden in Press Gaggle
Hagerstown Regional Airport
Hagerstown, Maryland
3:15 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down, on Wednesday, as soon as possible. They decided — without doing damage to anyone on — on the ground. They decided that the best time to do that was as it got over water, outside — within our — within the 12-mile limit.
They successfully took it down. And I want to compliment our aviators who did it. And we’ll have more to report on this a little later.
Thank you.
Q Mr. President, what does this say about China? What’s your message to China?
Q You were saying the recommendation from your — was from your national security —
THE PRESIDENT: I told them to shoot it down.
Q On Wednesday?
THE PRESIDENT: On Wednesday.
Q But the recommendation from them —
THE PRESIDENT: They said to me, “Let’s wait till the safest place to do it.”
General Says Chinese Surveillance Balloon Now Over Center of U.S.
Feb. 3, 2023 | By David Vergun , DOD News
As of noon today, the maneuverable Chinese surveillance balloon, which was over Montana yesterday, was at an altitude of about 60,000 feet and floating over the center of the continental United States in an easterly direction, posing no risk to commercial aviation, military assets or people on the ground, said the Pentagon press secretary.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command is continuing to monitor and leaders are reviewing options, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, who held a media briefing today.
"The balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is unacceptable," he said, adding that the U.S. has communicated that to Chinese leaders at multiple levels.
The balloon is carrying surveillance gear as well as a payload, Ryder said, not elaborating about the payload.
A reason not to shoot it down at this point, he said, is that besides not posing a threat to people or aircraft, the resulting debris from a strike of this large balloon could be harmful to people on the ground and result in property damage.
The balloon most likely will continue floating over the U.S. for the next few days and updates will be provided as needed, he said.
"Once the balloon was detected, we acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information," he added.
The balloon carries an underslung payload described as a "technology bay" estimated to be the size of "two or three school buses"; it was powered by solar panels mounted on the payload. The envelope of the balloon itself is "much larger", according to a U.S. official cited by CBS News. The same official described the craft as featuring a rudder for limited steering. Years earlier in Japan, a balloon of a cross-type payload bay was reported, adding two propellers mounted on the side of the chassis, possibly for more controllability.
On January 28,
according to the United States, the balloon entered its airspace above the Aleutian Islands , and
on January 30 entered Canadian airspace above the Northwest Territories
on January 31 The balloon then crossed into the United States in northern Idaho and Montana on February 1, where it was spotted over Billings. Montana is the location of multiple nuclear missile installations, including Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of three U.S. Air Force bases from which intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are operated, raising suspicions that the balloon had been launched to surveil said nuclear installations. A meteorological researcher calculated a possible trajectory along this path using the HYSPLIT atmospheric model, consistent with data on prevailing westerlies from China to Montana.
Detection
On February 2, 2023,
the United States Department of Defense and the Canadian Department of National Defence announced that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon believed to belong to China. The balloon was then flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 m) over the northern United States, and the U.S. Department of Defense said that the balloon did not pose a threat to civil aviation or people on the ground. According to national security and aerospace experts cited by The Washington Post, the balloon shares characteristics with other high-altitude balloons used by other nations for meteorology, telecommunications, and research.
A map of the world, showing a snaking line from the middle of China, across the Pacific Ocean, through Alaska and Canada, and into the northwestern United States Possible route of the balloon
On February 3, The balloon was spotted above northwest Missouri, near Kansas City.
On February 3, the United States Department of Defense stated that a second Chinese surveillance balloon was flying over Latin America. Unconfirmed sightings of the balloon were reported from Venezuela and Costa Rica, while the Colombian Air Force said that on the morning of February 3 it had detected an object "similar to a balloon" at a height of 55,000 feet (17,000 m) and traveling at a speed of 25 knots (46 kilometers per hour; 29 miles per hour) and that it had continued to track it until it left Colombian airspace.
On February 4, the balloon drifted to the Carolinas. The FAA closed airspace over the area. A ground stop was ordered on the coast at Myrtle Beach International Airport, Charleston International Airport, and Wilmington International Airport. Military aircraft were reported to be over the Carolinas. U.S. officials later stated that this was in preparation for the eventual downing of the balloon over the Atlantic.
According to the U.S. military, the balloon was successfully shot down by a single AIM-9X air-to-air missile, fired from a F-22 Raptor off the coast of Surfside Beach, South Carolina, at 2:39 PM local time. The shootdown was the first kill recorded by an F-22 aircraft, and was speculated to be the highest-altitude air-to-air kill in history.
US shoots down Chinese 'spy' balloon over Atlantic – BBC News
China reacts to US shooting down Chinese surveillance balloon | GMA ABC
Suspected Chinese balloon shot down over the Atlantic: MSNBC
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