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BREAKING NEWS: The Chinese spy balloon carried EXPLOSIVES to destroy itself, was 200 feet tall, weighed thousands of pounds, and had a payload the size of a passenger plane.
- A senior Pentagon official said the Chinese spy balloon was carrying self-destructive explosives, was 200 feet tall and had a payload the size of a passenger plane.
- Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command, released new details about the downed balloon in a call with reporters Monday.
- His briefing followed National Security Council spokesman John Kirby defending the decision to delay shooting down the balloon until it was over water.
- The delay “provided us with an excellent opportunity to gain a better understanding, to study the capabilities of this balloon.”
The Chinese spy balloon potentially carrying self-destructive explosives was 200 feet tall, weighed thousands of pounds and had a payload the size of a passenger jet, a senior Pentagon official said Monday.
Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command, released new details about the downed balloon in a call with reporters Monday.
His description followed a briefing by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who defended President Joe Biden’s decision to wait and shoot down the Chinese ship until it was off the South Carolina coast on Saturday.
“Because the president decided that they would not shoot it down until they could do it safely, and that meant over water, that gave us an excellent opportunity to gain a better understanding, to study the capabilities of this balloon,” he told the audience. journalists on a call.
Biden ordered the balloon shot down on Wednesday, but the US military waited until Saturday and the Air Force sent an F-22 fighter jet armed with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to do the job.
The Chinese spy balloon, carrying self-destructive explosives, was 200 feet tall, weighed thousands of pounds and had a payload the size of a passenger jet, a senior Pentagon official said Monday.
The Chinese spy balloon after an F-22 shot it down on Saturday over the South Carolina coast.
Parts of the downed balloon were seen on a boat headed for North Myrtle Beach.
The delay exposed Biden to political attacks from Republicans, many of whom called for him to be shot down on the ground shortly after he was first reported flying over Montana.
On Monday, South Carolina media shared video of balloon debris that arrived on a boat near North Myrtle Beach on Sunday.
VanHerck said most of the debris had been collected, but there was a chance some could wash ashore, and he warned people to call authorities and stay away.