Military jets are circling the Chinese spy balloon and three airports have been shut down in the Carolinas until 2.45 pm after Joe Biden vowed to ‘deal with it.’
At least two jets were seen flying close to the balloon around 1.30 pm near Myrtle Beach as a source revealed defense officials are planning to shoot the aircraft down and capture it in the Atlantic.
The Federal Aviation Authority announced a ‘ground stop’ at Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Wilmington’s international airports shortly after 1 pm due to ‘national security initiatives.’ The FAA notices are in effect until at least 2.45 pm EST and the skies have emptied of commercial aircraft.
The President this morning told reporters, ‘We’re gonna take care of it,’ as he left Air Force One with his son Hunter at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, upstate NY.
Spy balloons operate at altitudes of up to 120,000ft, but the Chinese aircraft has descended to around 46,000ft, meaning it is well within striking distance for an F-22 Raptor which can soar to 65,000ft.
However, the mission is fraught with complexity. In 1998, the Canadian air force sent up F-18 fighter jets to try and shoot down a rogue weather balloon. They fired a thousand 20-millimeter cannon rounds into it before it finally sank six days later.
The balloon, filled with helium is not like the Hindenburg, it will not simply explode, and it is not clear whether surface-to-air missiles will work because their guidance systems are designed to smash fast-moving missiles and aircraft.
It comes amid mounting pressure on Biden as it emerged that a second Chinese spy balloon had been spotted over Latin America, passing over the Panama Canal and moving southeast over Venezuela.
The Pentagon confirmed the second Chinese aircraft Friday night. ‘We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,’ chief Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said.
