The United States recovered electronic parts and sensors from the first Chinese “spy balloon” in the Atlantic Ocean, which was shot down on February 4.
“Teams were able to recover a significant amount of debris from the site, including all identified priority sensors and electronic components, as well as large sections of the structure,” the US Northern Command said in a statement cited by the AFP agency.
China insists the balloon, which spent days hovering over North America, was a non-military weather observation plane, but the United States says it was a “sophisticated high-altitude spy vehicle” part of a global program.
A US F-22 fighter jet shot down the balloon off the South Carolina coast on February 4. Since then, three other objects have been shot down: one near Alaska, one over Canada, and a third over Lake Huron. The authorities have not yet identified the origin of these objects, but the White House has already assured that there are no “signs of extraterrestrial activity.”
The United States Government defended on Monday the demolition of three unidentified objects in recent days, although the authorities had no indication that these were intended for acts of espionage, unlike the Chinese balloon.
All three objects were traveling at such a low altitude that they posed a risk to civilian air traffic, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
Although the Joe Biden government still does not have evidence that these were equipped for espionage purposes, or that they belonged to China, the authorities have not ruled out these possibilities.
The situation has already created a diplomatic crisis, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned visit to China.
None of the three most recent objects has been recovered, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed in statements to reporters in Brussels, where he traveled to participate this week in a meeting of NATO defense ministers. .
Source: TSF
