Pieces of the debris were transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia to be studied further.ĭeputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday that the payload of the balloon had been recovered. Recovery efforts began immediately after the balloon was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4, and were concluded on February 17. The US sent up U-2 spy planes to track the balloon’s progress, according to US officials. Once it was over US territory, officials have argued that the benefits of gathering additional intelligence on the balloon far outweighed the risk of shooting it down over land. Instead, shortly after the balloon crossed over land, it alarmed officials by making its unexpected turn south. At the time, according to US officials, the balloon was expected to sail over Alaska and continue on a northern trajectory that intelligence and military officials could track and study. Still, officials tracking the balloon saw little reason to be alarmed. The selfie was captured a week after the balloon entered US airspace near Alaska, and NORAD sent up fighter jets to make a positive identification, according to defense officials. The photo released on Wednesday clearly shows the pilot flying above the balloon, which was hovering 60,000 feet when it was spotted over Montana. Because the planes are regularly “flown at altitudes over 70,000 feet,” pilots “must wear a full pressure suit similar to those worn by astronauts.” The U-2 is a single-seat, high-altitude reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft with “glider-like characteristics,” according to the Air Force. Officials also maintained that the balloon was not capable of conducting significant intelligence collection, in part because the US took steps to protect against it immediately upon spotting it. Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), later said the balloon was 200 feet tall with a payload that weighed a couple of thousand pounds. The package includes a level editor that will greatly facilitate your work. Using this template, you can create 2d games such as the Royal Revolt 2, Kingdom Rush, Castle Defense, Bloons TD. Officials said they’d decided against shooting the balloon down over the US because of its size, fearing falling debris could hurt civilians or property on the ground. Tower Defense Template (TD) includes all the tools needed to create amazing Tower Defense game. Inside Biden's decision to 'take care of' the Chinese spy balloon that triggered a diplomatic crisisĪ senior State Department official said earlier this month that fly-bys “revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations.” Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images While U-2 spy planes typically only have one seat, the one used to monitor the Chinese balloon was a two-seat trainer.President Joe Biden speaks to reporters after arriving at Hagerstown Regional Airport in Maryland on February 4, 2023. The photos were taken by a second pilot inside the aircraft, ABC News reported Wednesday. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirmed the image’s authenticity Wednesday. The shot of a U-2 pilot looking at the balloon was published Tuesday on the blog Dragon Lady Today, run by UK-based aerospace journalist Chris Pocock. 3, the day before two US Air Force F-22 fighter jets shot down the balloon off Myrtle Beach, SC. The series of photos represent the closest look yet at the device - which officials estimated to be about 200 feet tall, weigh thousands of pounds, and carry a payload the length of a regional jet. The Defense Department Wednesday released stunning images taken by a U-2 surveillance pilot of the Chinese spy balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month. The new ‘blasphemy’, Dems’ Kamala conundrum and other commentary House intel committee OKs bill to declassify COVID-19 origin report White House signals support for legislation that could lead to TikTok ban US plans to lift COVID-19 test requirement for travelers from China: report
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