A third Chinese spy balloon could be lingering near US interests, but officials won’t say where it is. An anonymous source told the Washington Post a third balloon is likely operating near the US after the first balloon was discovered hovering over Montana on Thursday and another was found above Latin America on Friday.
The first balloon was shot down by an F-22 Raptor out of Langley Air Force base with a single AIM-9X sidewinder missile at 2.38 pm today off the coast of South Carolina.
A source told the Post that the discovery of the balloons was an embarrassment to the Chinese, who are ‘freaked’ out by the incident. ‘They’re in a very tough place,’ the source told the outlet. ‘And they have very few cards to play right now.’
China had said the first balloon was collecting weather data when it was blown off course. However, on Saturday, two officials told the Washington Post that the balloons were part of a Chinese military surveillance program that relies on technology that helps supply the People’s Liberation Army.
A source told the Post that the discovery of the balloons was an embarrassment to the Chinese, who were ‘freaked’ out by the incident. ‘They’re in a very tough place,’ the source told the outlet. ‘And they have very few cards to play right now.’
China had said the first balloon was collecting weather data when it was blown off course. However, on Saturday, two officials told the Washington Post that the balloons were part of a Chinese military surveillance program that relies on technology that helps supply the People’s Liberation Army.
‘They successfully took it down it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,’ the President said as he stepped off Air Force One en route to Camp David at Hagerstown Regional Airport, Maryland.
The Pentagon confirmed: ‘The balloon, which was being used by the People’s Republic of China in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.’ Defense officials estimated the balloon was about the size of three buses and that any debris field would be substantial.
The airspace in the Carolinas has now reopened after the Federal Aviation Authority announced a ‘ground stop’ at Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Wilmington’s international airports shortly after 1 pm. The Coast Guard earlier advised mariners to immediately leave the area due to military operations ‘that present a significant hazard.’
Ahead of the strike, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, as well as F-22 Raptors were observed flying in the area, along with a US Navy P-8a Poseidon patrol aircraft. A Coast Guard HC-130 search-and-rescue plane also took off from Wilmington. (SOURCE)
