The US claims to have recovered key sensors from the Chinese spy balloon that it downed as tensions between the two countries escalated.
China denies that the Chinese balloon was a spy vessel for the government. The Chinese balloon flew over the USA and Canada for a week before President Joe Biden ordered its downing off the South Carolina coast.
According to the US military’s northern command, they released the following statement: “Crews were able to recover significant debris from this site, including all priority sensor and electronic pieces identified as well large sections of structure.”
On February 4, the balloon was brought down. Three additional unidentified objects were also shot down in North American airspace.
The US admits that there is still much to learn about the unmanned, most recent objects, including their maintenance and who made them.
According to the White House, China has a high-altitude balloon program that can be used for intelligence gathering.
The newspaper reported that a Chinese surveillance balloon flying at high altitude near US military installations in the Middle East was observed last year. However, it was not considered a threat because it was located far enough off the coast.
According to Japanese authorities, an object seen flying over Japan’s waters in the southwest region of Kyushu in January 2022 is most likely a Chinese spy ball.
The US has yet to recover any debris from the three latest objects that were shot down. One of the most recent was a sled made of ice and snow.
One object was taken down from Canada’s Yukon Territory.
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US in a heightened state over flying objects
Spy balls and flying objects: This timeline shows where and when fighter jets have taken down.
Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, stated that the four aerial objects were connected in some way without going into detail.
He stated that there was a pattern and it is worth paying attention to.
China claims that US high-altitude balloons flew over its airspace over 10 times in the past year, a claim Washington denies.
What do we know about flying objects?
* The first object, which was described by US officials to be a Chinese spy balloon, was shot off the Carolina coast on February 4.
* A second object was downed by NORAD on 10 February. It was described as “about the same size as a small car”.
* A day later, on February 11, a third, unidentified object was also tracked into US airspace above Alaska, before drifting over Canada. It was then shot down.
* US officials confirmed that another unidentified object was shot down by fighter planes over Lake Huron, near Michigan’s border with Canada, on Sunday.
* An F-16 US jet launched a missile from approximately 20,000ft to the latest object, amid concerns about its altitude and flight path, which could pose a danger to civilian planes.
* An anonymous senior US official described the latest object as an “octagonal structure with strings hanging from but no discernible payload”.
* Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, stated last week that teams were looking for an object that was shot over his country.