President Joe Biden gave the order on February 1, but it wasn’t carried out until the balloon was over water off the coast of South Carolina to make sure no citizens were hurt.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III stated that the PRC’s attempt to use the balloon to spy on strategic sites within the continental United States ended when it was brought down over territorial waters.
The move was made with the Canadian government’s support and cooperation. While passing through North America, “we thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon,” as expressed by Austin. According to Austin, President Biden and his national security team have taken a deliberate and legal action in response to the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s (PRC) unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.
The PRC has publicly declared that the balloon is actually a weather balloon that was misdirected by the wind. “This is not true,” the official emphasized. “This was a PRC surveillance balloon.” “This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites.”
From Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, an F-22 Raptor fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. The balloon splashed down in water about 47 feet deep, about six miles from shore. Nobody got hurt.
Before the shoot-down, American officials had already taken steps to stop the balloon from gathering sensitive information, which would have made it less useful to the Chinese as a source of intelligence.
Upon its recovery, the balloon will allow American analysts to examine sensitive Chinese equipment, according to the senior defense official.
