Pentagon releases pilot’s close-up photo of Chinese balloon
TARA COPP
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A U-2 pilot flying high above the Chinese spy balloon took a close-up photo of the large white orb just a day before the Air Force shot it down off the South Carolina coast.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE VIA AP
A U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot looks down at a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovers over the United States on Feb. 3.
The photo shows the top of the pilot’s helmet inside the U-2 cockpit with the balloon flying below. It was taken Feb. 3 as the balloon “hovered over the Central Continental United States,” according to the caption provided by the Defense Department. The Pentagon released the image Wednesday, more than two weeks after the balloon made international headlines as it transited the United States.
The balloon was downed on Feb. 4 by an F-22 fighter jet firing a AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. The strike took place once the balloon was no longer over land but was still within U.S. territorial waters.
The U-2 Dragon Lady is a high altitude U.S. spy plane that has been in service since the 1950s.
The Pentagon announced last Friday that Navy ships and submersibles had completed recovery of the massive balloon and its payload, which fell in pieces into the Atlantic Ocean. The payload was recovered from the ocean floor and is being analyzed by the FBI, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday.
The shootdown led to three other smaller objects also being shot down by Air Force jets within a period of eight days: one over Alaska, one over Canada and one over Lake Huron. Searches for the Alaska and Lake Huron objects have ended.
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
HOGP
This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
Nell Redmond
men use ropes to secure a Navy boat to a dock on the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Nell Redmond
men use ropes to secure a Navy boat to a dock on the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
Nell Redmond
A Navy truck backs a boat into the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Nell Redmond
A Navy truck backs a boat into the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
Nell Redmond
Members of the Navy work on a device on a vessel along the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Nell Redmond
Members of the Navy work on a device on a vessel along the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
Nell Redmond
Members of the Navy work on a device on a vessel along the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Nell Redmond
Members of the Navy work on a device on a vessel along the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
US says Chinese military behind vast aerial spy program that has targeted 40 countries with high-altitude balloons
Nell Redmond
Members of the Navy work on a device on a vessel along the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Nell Redmond
Members of the Navy work on a device on a vessel along the InterCoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
