The US announced on Monday that it had no plans to return the purported spy balloon recovered from the Atlantic to China. According to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, the debris had spread over a large area and some remains had been gathered from the sea’s surface. However, due to weather circumstances, proper submarine monitoring could not be carried out.
The United States fired down a Chinese spy balloon that was allegedly spying on its key nuclear weapons locations
On President Joe Biden’s orders, the United States fired down a Chinese spy balloon that was allegedly spying on its key nuclear weapons locations. Meanwhile, tensions between the two countries have risen as a result of spying suspicions. China, on the other hand, said it was a weather observation balloon with no military purpose and accused the US of “overreaction.”
Crew made steps to disable the balloon’s ability to spy
Kirby stated that the debris recovery operation has only recently begun and that US personnel will soon be able to get down to the ocean’s floor and take a closer look at it.
He also stated that the crew made steps to disable the balloon’s ability to spy while boosting their ability to collect intelligence and information from it.
The balloon had propellers and wasn’t just drifting: Kirby
In contrast to China’s accusations that the balloon went off course, Kirby stated that the balloon was movable and had propellers and steering to guide its orientation.
Despite its propellers and rudders, he stated the major element controlling its orientation was the jet stream wind because it was flying at a far higher altitude than commercial aviation traffic.
A similar object has been reported over Colombia
The suspected spy balloon was shot down after crossing the United States’ east coast. At the same time, the United States saw another similar airborne item passing over South America and sent an alarm. Colombia verified the detection of the object, which resembled a balloon, a day later. However, it stated that the flying item posed no threat to national or aviation security.