The United States military has finally shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed across the country.
The surveillance craft caused outrage as it flew unchallenged in U.S. airspace, including passing by sensitive military sites.
Democrat President Joe Biden and his administration allowed it to fly across the country unmolested but reports claimed we were monitoring the data it was transmitting.
An operation is underway in U.S. territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover debris from the balloon.
The balloon had been flying at around 60,000 feet.
It was estimated to be the size of three school buses.
As Slay News reported earlier, an Air Force fighter aircraft shot down the balloon.
Before we shot down the balloon, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued a ground stop for airports in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.
The FAA also restricted airspace near Myrtle Beach “to support the Defense Department in a national security effort.
Earlier Saturday, President Biden had told reporters in Syracuse, New York, that his administration was “gonna take care” of it.
Watch the Chinese spy ballon get shot down! #ChineseSpyBallon pic.twitter.com/tFy6ZAYz1n
— Skol Geek (@SkolGeek) February 4, 2023
Defense Department spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said earlier that the balloon was “maneuverable.”
He said: “We know that balloon has violated US airspace and international law — which is unacceptable.
“And we’ve conveyed this directly to the PRC on multiple levels.
“The fact is, we know that it’s a surveillance balloon, and I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that.”
“The balloon continues to move eastward and is currently over the center of the continental United States.
“Again, we currently assess that the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time.
“It’ll probably be over the United States for a few days.
“The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is,” he said but refused to exact location details.
“Clearly they’re trying to fly this — this balloon over sensitive sites to collect information,” a U.S. official said on Thursday.
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said, “China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent.
“I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing.”
“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
“Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.”
“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” the spokesperson said.
“The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”
Video of seconds after the US government shot down the Chinese “spy” ballon. At the very end you can slightly hear the second boom through the wind noise. USA!🫡 pic.twitter.com/wVlKR5RlUm
— ⚡️IG @OK99BABY⚡️ (@ok99baby) February 4, 2023
Another video of the Chinese spy ballon getting shot down. #ChineseSpyBalloon pic.twitter.com/YN521PsrYP
— Skol Geek (@SkolGeek) February 4, 2023
READ MORE: Second Chinese Spy Balloon Operating in Sky, U.S Military Confirms
