The intelligence authorities of the US think the Chinese spy balloon that was seen in the skies of western America was part of an extensive surveillance program.
As per information available from the primary report, it was known that China was undertaking an operation of deploying a fleet of spy balloons with a target on multiple countries. The reports stated that the primary targets of China were the nations such as the United States, India, and Japan.
The report said that the surveillance balloon effort, which had operated for several years partly out of the Hainan province off China’s south coast had collected data on military assets in countries and areas of emerging strategic interest to China including India, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, and Taiwan.
The officials of the United States briefed the media about the severity of the situation. According to the briefing, the U.S. had made a step to inform the other nations of the finds of the Chinese spy balloon which was shot down using a fighter jet in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.
The officials mentioned the other countries as the friends or allies or both of the nation, the U.S.
A senior official from the Department of Defense stated that such balloons were all part of the fleet of balloons developed by the PRC, People’s Republic of China. The senior official added that the balloons had been developed with the aim to conduct surveillance operations which come as a violation of the sovereignty of other countries.
U.S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon had released a series of images of the recovery process of the high-altitude surveillance balloon.
The images showed the US Navy members operating near the balloon. The officials from the Navy of the United States, the members of the explosive ordinance group leaning over the rigid-hull inflatable boat.
They were trying to pull in the balloon from the water. The shell structure and the outer fabric of the balloon in a color that seemed similar to white were seen in the photo.
The Navy of the United States had initiated an extensive operation to collect all the pieces of the shot-down ballon. It was reported that the US Navy would make use of inflatable boats and other vessels, underwater drones, and warships in order to gather the remains and pieces.
On the first reports on spotting the balloon the size of the balloon was estimated to be the size of three buses. The balloon was measured and the details denote that, the height of the balloon was estimated to be 60 meters, which is 200 ft tall.
A long sensor package was also discovered from the insides of the balloon. The Navy has also deployed warships to extensively scan and map the sea floor to collect all the data from the remnants of the balloon.
General Glen VanHerck, the head of the Northern Command of the United States had stated that the sensor package was the size of a small regional jet.
The first statements from Beijing said that the ballon was an unmanned civilian airship the primary purpose of which was a collection of weather data, and it had blown off the course and the control was lost.
Following the spy balloon incident, Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State had postponed a visit to the capital of China.
Wendy Sherman, the Deputy Secretary of the State had briefed the officials from around 40 embassies on the findings obtained from the remains of the spy balloon.
Also Read:- Chinese Spy Balloon Spotted Over Western US Says Pentagon
The presence of the Chinese spy balloon was first spotted and reported by the Pentagon, the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Chinese spy balloon was shot down by deploying a U.S. fighter jet.
It was shot down on Saturday. At the time of shooting down the balloon had moved on its flight path and had reached the skies above the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina.
The operation was directed by Joe Biden, the President of the United States of America. As per the reports given out by the senior official of the US Department of Defense it was understood that the balloon was successfully downed at 2:39 pm on Saturday by a single missile.
The president gave a statement to the US reporters in which he said he told the defense to shoot down the balloon. The decision to destroy the balloon was made as it drifted over the water. The President had suggested shooting down the balloon when it was first spotted over the Northern states of America.
However, it was advised by the Federal Aviation Administration to not shoot it down. It was estimated in the initial assessment that the balloon does not pose any threat to the military or civilians.
There was also the concern of shooting down the balloon might cause harm to the people below it as the balloon was spotted over Montana.
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