U.S. Shoots Down Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Over Atlantic (Updating)

Topline

The suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot Saturday morning, after the Biden Administration gave the go-ahead to take it down after it floated over the Atlantic Ocean east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, following calls from lawmakers to act urgently on the mysterious balloon.

A large balloon drifts above the Kingstown, N.C. area, with an airplane and its contrail seen below … [+] it. (Brian Branch via AP)

Brian Branch

Key Facts

U.S. Air Force fighter jets shot the balloon shortly after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, federal officials confirmed to the Associated Press.

White House officials had been considering a plan to shoot down the spy balloon once it passed over South Carolina and into federal waters, where it could be recovered and debris could be collected, the Associated Press reported.

It comes as the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for three major airports in North Carolina and South Carolina in a “national security effort,” prohibiting pilots from operating aircraft at the airports.

In an unconfirmed sighting, a meteorologist with a Charlotte, North Carolina, NBC affiliate said he saw the massive balloon floating over Charlotte, after it was spotted on Friday over Kansas City and St. Louis.

Speaking at a press conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken—who postponed his planned trip to Beijing this week after news broke of the balloon—said the first step is to remove it from federal airspace, calling the move by China “unacceptable and irresponsible” and a violation of international law.

Lawmakers on the right have been criticizing the Biden Administration for not taking immediate action on the balloon, with former President Donald Trump calling on Biden to shoot it down immediately—although that plan could be dangerous, according to a former Navy pilot, who told Business Insider it would be both “very difficult” and could pose a risk to people on the ground.

But officials had been considering shooting it down over federal waters once it crosses the coast of the Carolinas, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, who also told ABC News it would be too dangerous to shoot down over the continental U.S.

Pentagon press secretary Brigadier Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press conference on Friday the balloon—believed to be the size of three buses floating at roughly 60,000 feet—did not pose a “military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Surprising Fact

U.S. officials were aware of the balloon when it crossed into U.S. airspace on January 28, Bloomberg reported, but did not disclose the information publicly until it was spotted again after it re-entered U.S. federal airspace over Idaho and Montana. Biden reportedly considered shooting it down then, but was advised against doing so by military advisors.

Tangent

A second suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted Friday night over Colombia and Venezuela, the Pentagon confirmed, without providing further details on the balloon, after outlets in Costa Rica reported seeing what appeared to be a hot air balloon over the Central American country on Thursday. Officials also confirmed similar Chinese balloons had been detected near Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam last February, multiple outlets reported.

Contra

China’s foreign ministry claimed the balloon was not part of a surveillance operation but rather a civilian weather balloon that was blown off course by westerly winds, though Ryder denied the claim, saying “we know that it’s a surveillance balloon” and that it had “violated U.S. airspace and international law.”

Chief Critic

GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) urged the White House to shoot it down, while James Comer (R-Ky.) wildly speculated in an interview with Fox News the balloon could carry “bioweapons.” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) argued the Pentagon “failed to act with urgency,” while Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) argued Biden had been “coddling and appeasing the Chinese communists” and former South Carolina Gov. and likely GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Saturday tweeted it should be captured to “see what they are collecting and hold Xi accountable.” When asked by Fox News for comment on China, Biden simply said, “we’re going to take care of it.”