A 200-foot-tall balloon suspected of being used by China to spy on sensitive sites as it flew over the United States was shot down by an F-22 Raptor fighter jet using a Sidewinder missile, according to the Pentagon.
The U.S. Fleet Forces Command released images of sailors recovering debris from the balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Feb. 5.
A statement from the military said "At the direction of the President of the United States and with the full support of the Government of Canada, U.S. fighter aircraft under U.S. Northern Command authority engaged and brought down a high altitude surveillance balloon within sovereign U.S. airspace and over U.S. territorial waters Feb. 4, 2023."
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said "the balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters."
The balloon flew at around 60,000 feet, or around 12 miles above the surface.
The balloon's debris field was off the South Carolina coast and at around 1,500 square meters, or the equivalent of about 15 football fields.
China accuses US of indiscriminate use of force over balloon
Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy over a "U.S. attack" on the unmanned Chinese airship.
