The US Department of Defense released a photograph on Wednesday showing the Chinese spy balloon shot down by US warplanes.
The image was captured by the pilot of a U2, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft used by the United States Air Force, during the pursuit of the balloon after it entered United States airspace.
The balloon was located at the end of January and shot down after days flying over different areas of the country, such as the state of Montana, where one of the three nuclear missile silo fields in the United States is located.
For security reasons, the military waited for the plane to reach the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina before shooting it down with a single missile fired from an F-22 Raptor jet. The remains have been recovered and are being analyzed.
Joe Biden condemned the “unacceptable violation” of US sovereignty, which reignited tensions between the two countries.
Despite Beijing’s denials, US officials say the balloon was equipped with surveillance equipment, part of China’s vast global spy program.
The incident led the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to postpone a trip to China scheduled for early February at the last minute, without giving a new date.
Source: TSF
