A U.S. Air Force pilot looked down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over … [+]
The Pentagon has released a high-resolution photo of the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 4 after sailing over the continental U.S. A low-resolution version of the same photo, which was taken from the perspective of a U-2 pilot, had been circulating on national security blogs since at least Tuesday.
The photo showed up in a low-resolution version at Dragon Lady Today on Tuesday, though it’s unclear how the blog obtained the photo. The U-2 spy plane, which has been in service since the 1950s, is nicknamed the Dragon Lady.
The newly released photo was taken on Feb. 3, according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s media distribution channel known as DVIDS, just a day before the balloon was shot down. That timeline would’ve likely placed the balloon somewhere between Kansas and North Carolina.
The balloon can be seen just off to the side of the U-2’s right wing and shows us a better view of the balloon’s solar panels, which likely powered the balloon. Previous photos only showed the balloon from the vantage point of the ground.
A close-up view of the Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the Central Continental … [+]
The Chinese spy balloon was one of four objects shot down over the U.S. and Canada during a two week period of intense interest in the skies. Other objects were shot down in northern Alaska, in Canada’s Yukon, and over Lake Huron near Michigan. But it’s widely believed, and even acknowledged by the White House, that the last three objects shot down were likely weather balloons.
One of the balloons over the Yukon Territory matches the description and location of a hobby club’s balloon, according to a report from Aviation Week. The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, which flies balloons to track different weather patterns, was the likely owner of the balloon that was shot down over Canada. But we’ll probably never know for sure. The search for the three balloons has been called off. Only the Chinese spy balloon is still being analyzed by the FBI and presumably U.S. intelligence agencies.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/02/22/pentagon-releases-selfie-of-chinese-spy-balloon-taken-from-u-2-spy-plane/