Chinese balloon sensors recovered from ocean – USon February 14, 2023 at 12:07 pm

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Crews found “significant debris” from the suspected spy craft off the South Carolina coast, say the US military.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

The sensors from the first suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over the US have been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean, the US military says.

Search crews found “significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified”, said US Northern Command.

The FBI is examining the items, which the US says were used to spy on sensitive military sites.

The US has shot down three more objects since the first one on 4 February.

“Large sections of the structure” were also recovered on Monday off the coast of South Carolina, military officials say.

About 30-40ft (9-12m) of the balloon’s antennas are among the items found, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

US officials said the high-altitude balloon originated in China and was used for surveillance, but China said it was merely a weather-monitoring airship that had blown astray.

Map showing location and altitudes of shot down objects.

Since that first incident, American fighter jets have shot down three more high-altitude objects – over Alaska, Canada’s Yukon territory, and Lake Huron on the US-Canada border.

In the Lake Huron strike, the first Sidewinder missile fired by the US F-16 warplane missed its target and exploded in an unknown location, US media reported, citing military sources.

The second missile hit the target. Each Sidewinder missile costs over $400,000 (£330,000).

Officials have said the slow-moving unidentified objects, all of which have been smaller than the first balloon, may be difficult for military pilots to target.

White House spokesman John Kirby said on Monday the three other objects were shot down “out of an abundance of caution”.

They did not pose “any direct threat to people on the ground”, but were destroyed “to protect our security, our interests and flight safety”, he said.

The balloon shot down over South Carolina was described by officials as the size of three buses. 

The second object, over Alaska, was described as the size of a “small car”. The third object, over the Yukon, was “cylindrical”. And the fourth, over Michigan, was said to be “octagonal” with strings attached. 

A Pentagon memo later reported in US media said the flying object shot down over Yukon appeared to be a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it”.

Defence officials also wrote in the memo that the object shot down in Michigan “subsequently slowly descended” into the water after impact.

This video can not be played

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

The recovery of the balloon shot down on 4 February was delayed amid foul weather.

Efforts are under way to collect debris from where the other objects were blown out of the sky.

Canada’s federal police force said on Monday that the search area in the Yukon Territory was about 3,000 sq km (1,870 sq miles), including “rugged mountain terrain with a very high level of snowpack”.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Sean McGillis said there was a possibility the fragments from the Yukon and Lake Huron incidents might never be recovered because of their remote locations.

Navy divers helped recover the balloon from the Atlantic Ocean

Image source, US Navy

Canadian Armed Forces Major-General Paul Prévost said all three of the most recent objects to be shot down appeared to be “lighter than air” machines, and described the Lake Huron object as “a suspected balloon”.

The military chief added that any members of the public who discovered debris should contact the police directly.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is considering meeting China’s most senior diplomat, Wang Yi, later this week at a security conference in Munich, Germany, sources familiar with the negotiations told US media on Monday.

Amid the row over high-altitude aircraft, America’s top diplomat cancelled a visit to Beijing that was initially planned for last week.

line
Get in touch banner

What are your questions for our experts on the US balloons story?

In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy.

Use this form to ask your question:

If you are reading this page and can’t see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in.

- Advertisement -

Discover

Sponsor

Latest

Brewdog flouted US laws over beer importson January 19, 2022 at 5:56 pm

Scottish beer giant shipped hundreds of kegs of beer to America which had not been legally approved.Image source, Getty ImagesScottish beer giant Brewdog sent...

David Duckham: Former England and British & Irish Lions back dies aged 76on January 10, 2023 at 7:28 pm

Former England, British & Irish Lions and Coventry back David Duckham dies aged 76.Former England, British & Irish Lions and Coventry back David Duckham...

Trump will not appear in court in handcuffs – lawyeron March 31, 2023 at 9:42 pm

The former US president is to fly from Florida and turn himself in while surrounded by federal agents.Image source, ReutersBy Robert Plummer & Nada...

Football Focus: Leah Williamson laughed when told she would be England captainon October 23, 2021 at 5:49 am

Arsenal defender Leah Williamson tells Football Focus that she laughed when she was told she would be England captain, and reflects on her career...

Winter Olympics: Dave Ryding says it’s do or die for medal in Beijingon February 15, 2022 at 5:39 am

Dave Ryding - Britain's first ever alpine World Cup winner - says it is "do or die" for a Winter Olympic medal in Beijing.