The US military carried out an operation to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that had been hovering in American airspace using a single supersonic missile fired by an F22 Jet fighter.
President Joe Biden congratulated the military for the exemplary job of protecting American airspace and sovereignty.
The military has launched a vast underwater search to find the remains of the balloon, which the United States is confident will show the Chinese were lying about its purpose above American airspace.
China has previously said it was used for meteorological research and veered off course due to high winds, and with limited “self-steering capabilities” it was unable to right itself.
Yet the Pentagon says the balloon, which was carrying sensors and surveillance equipment, was maneuverable and showed it could change course when it loitered over sensitive areas of Montana where nuclear warheads are siloed.
The balloon was then seen above Kansas City and later York County, where the sheriff’s department had to remind the public to not shoot at it with their own guns: “Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it. Be responsible. What goes up will come down, including your bullets.”
In 1998, British, Canadian, and American forces failed to bring down a genuinely rogue meteorological balloon over the Arctic.
The Canadian air force pumped more than a thousand 20mm cannon shells into it, yet it still did not deflate.
“They are designed to hit something solid,” said Sky’s defense and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke.
“It shows some confidence and ingenuity to get it with a single missile.”
China can only blame itself for this humiliation as it acted foolishly and blatantly attempted to disgrace the sovereignty of a superpower. Obviously, it was expected that the US would not allow such acts to go unpunished.
It’s irresponsible for the Chinese to flare tensions and engagement in actions that disrupt peace.