American officials later disclosed that they had been tracking the Chinese balloon since it was launched from Hainan.

Analysts said that its flight path and structural characteristics were dissimilar from those of a typical weather balloon. It added that similar Chinese spy balloons have flown over more than 40 nations. said that the balloon was capable of geolocating electronic communications and carried intelligence surveillance equipment inconsistent with that of a weather balloon.

The American and Canadian militaries announced that the balloon was for surveillance, while the Chinese government maintained it was a civilian (mainly meteorological) airship that had been blown off course. Debris from the wreckage was recovered and sent to an FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis. territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina, on the order of U.S.

Air Force shot down the balloon over U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor debris recovered įrom January 28 to February 4, 2023, a Chinese-operated high-altitude balloon was spotted in North American airspace, including Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States.

Balloon downed by an AIM-9 Sidewinder fired by a U.S.

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