A high-altitude balloon from China carrying a payload the size of three coach buses equipped with what American officials have described as surveillance equipment was spotted over the continental US, visibly hovering above a state with key military assets and ultimately sparking an internati
An F-22A fighter of the US Air Force's 1st Fighter Wing, taking off from Langley Air Force Base, splashed the high-flying balloon with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile after it had crossed the coast of South Carolina. The balloon was flying at between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.
US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called the Biden administration's decision to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon on Saturday "too late" and stressed that it allowed China to make a "mockery" of US airspace.
Schumer stated that the briefing will include information about China's surveillance capabilities, research and development, advanced weapons systems and other "critical platforms."
"Most likely, China sent the balloon to test US counter surveillance capabilities," said Lyle Morris, a senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. He was previously country director for China in the Office of the Secretary of Defence.
The Pentagon said the balloon over the US is being used for surveillance, rejecting China's claim that the aircraft was a "civilian airship" for research that deviated from its course. Meanwhile, on Friday evening the Pentagon said that a second Chinese spy balloon had been spotted floati
The Pentagon earlier on Friday flatly denied the Chinese government's claim that the balloon serves a civilian research purpose, saying that the US knows it is a "surveillance balloon."
The decision by the US President came hours before Blinken was scheduled to depart for Beijing. A postponement in the visit indicates how seriously the Biden administration takes the incident.