A US Air Force fighter safely shot down a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon on Saturday February 4, 2023, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a written statement on the same day.
"The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to survail strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters," Austin said.
US officials first detected the balloon and its payload on January 28 when it entered US airspace near the Aleutian Islands. The balloon traversed Alaska and Canada and re-entered US airspace over Idaho.
President Joe Biden ordered action on February 1, 2023. To ensure no harm to civilians on the ground, the balloon could not be shot down until it was over water off the coast of South Carolina. "Military commanders determined that there was undue risk of debris causing harm to civilians while the balloon was overland," said a senior official of the Department of Defense (DoD).
An F-22 from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder at the balloon from an altitude of 58,000 feet. The balloon at the time was between 60,000 and 65,000 feet. The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast in about 47 feet of water. No one was hurt.
Long before the balloon was shot down, US officials took steps to protect against the balloon's collection of sensitive information.
A senior defense official said that recovery of the balloon will enable US analysts to examine sensitive Chinese equipment. "The surveillance balloon's overflight of US territory was of intelligence value to us," the official said. "I can't go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable."
According to the DoD, the balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. Still, its intrusion into American airspace over several days was an unacceptable violation of US sovereignty.
The DoD official said Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.
"The PRC has claimed publicly that the high-altitude balloon operating above the United States is a weather balloon that was blown off course. This is false," the official said. "This was a PRC surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites."
According to the DoD report, F-15 Eagles flying from Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, supported the F-22, as did tankers from multiple states, including Oregon, Montana, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Canadian forces also helped track the overflight of the balloon. The Navy has deployed the destroyer USS Oscar Austin, the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the USS Carter Hall, an amphibious landing ship in support of the effort.