A US Air Force fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast on Saturday, a week after it entered US airspace for the first time and launched a dramatic – and public – spying saga that has rocked China-US relations. spoiled the
VanHerck did not rule out that the balloon might have contained explosives, but said he had no evidence that either. However, this risk was a factor in his plan to shoot the balloon over open water.
The mission involved several fighter and refueling aircraft, but only one — an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia — took the shot at 2:39 p.m. using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-guided rocket. Mang, air-to-air missile.
Vanherk said debris had been collected from an area of about 1,500 meters (4,920 ft) by 1,500 meters and that several military ships were helping to collect it.
The US Coast Guard said Monday it is creating a temporary safety zone in the waters off Surfside Beach, South Carolina, where the balloon was shot down.
Officials did not disclose how much of the payload of spy sensors carried by the balloon was intact after it fell into the ocean – a factor that could determine whether the shoot-down was successful from an intelligence-gathering perspective.