Pentagon reveals details on how Chinese spy balloon was taken down with single shot

The Biden administration is releasing particulars on how precisely the navy effort to shoot down a Chinese language spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina unfolded.

A senior navy official mentioned on Saturday that the Chinese language spy balloon was shot down at 2:39 p.m. on Saturday by one air-to-air A9X sidewinder missile fired by an F-22 Raptor that took off from Langley Air Power Base in Virginia.

The plane fired the missile at an altitude of 58,000 toes whereas the balloon was hovering at an altitude of between 60,000 and 65,000 toes.

The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the coast off South Carolina and the particles area is claimed to be roughly seven miles large.

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The depth of the water the place the particles from the balloon hit the ocean is roughly 47 toes, officers mentioned.

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The timeline on recovering the balloon from the Atlantic Ocean is unknown and a Navy salvage vessel is anticipated to be on the scene in a few days.

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The protection official mentioned that the U.S. navy was in a position to collect intelligence info on the balloon because it flew throughout the nation.

“I can not go into extra element, however we had been in a position to research and scrutinize the balloon and its tools, which has been useful as Chinese language officers have themselves acknowledged,” the protection official mentioned.

The protection official confirmed President Biden’s Saturday remark that the navy was given his permission to shoot the balloon down on Wednesday however navy officers waited because of security considerations for individuals on the bottom.

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The protection official mentioned that Saturday afternoon “was the primary accessible alternative to efficiently convey down their surveillance balloon in a method that may not pose a risk to the security of Individuals, that are navy belongings.”

President Biden has obtained scrutiny from Republicans on Capitol Hill for not taking pictures down the balloon sooner because it flew over a number of navy amenities that would have probably offered China with intelligence info.