February 4, 2023
US fighter jets shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina about an hour ago.
The President told reporters he gave the order on Wednesday.
The balloon was brought down over the Atlantic Ocean right after the FAA ordered a ground stop of all flights in and out of the area. The restriction was lifted just a short time later. The us navy and coast guard vessels are in the area where the balloon went down. Navy divers will go in and recover what’s left of the balloon and the technology it was carrying.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the balloon was being used by the Chinese government to “surveil strategic sites in the continental US” and said the president gave the order to take the balloon down “as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloons path.” He also said throughout the balloons flight, the department of defense was “closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities.”
