Pentagon releases close-up photo of Chinese spy balloon one day before it was shot down
23 February 2023, 10:14
The Pentagon has released a close-up photo of the Chinese spy balloon just one day before the American Air Force shot it down.
The photo, taken on February 3, shows the top of the pilot's helmet inside the U-2 cockpit as the balloon glides above mainland America.
The US had hesitated to shoot the balloon down because of the risks to people on the ground from falling debris.
The balloon was eventually shot down on February 4 once it had moved away from land and towards the ocean.
More unidentified objects were seen in US skies the week after, but Joe Biden said they did not appear to be used for spying and instead were "likely" to be linked to private companies.
Read More: Three UFOs shot down by US were not spy balloons, says Biden
The president vowed to develop “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked in American airspace.
Mr Biden said he made no apology for protecting US skies but added: "We are not looking for a new Cold War with China."
"We don't yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing nothing right now suggests they were related to China's spy balloon programme, or they were surveillance vehicles from other any other country," he said.
"The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions, studying weather, or conducting other scientific research."
China has denied claims the balloon was surveillance, insisting it was instead an "out of control" weather balloon.
