Pentagon releases U2 pilot’s cockpit picture of Beijing’s surveillance craft as it flew over US
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Chinese spy balloon selfie: Pentagon releases picture of U2’s cockpit of Beijing surveillance craft as it flew over the US, sparking a crisis for Biden before ordering it shot down over the Atlantic
- A photo of the spy balloon from a never-before-seen angle has been released.
- The Chinese spy ship was shot down off the coast of South Carolina this month.
- The balloon is believed to have reached altitudes of 60 to 70,000 feet.
The Pentagon has released a selfie taken by the pilot of a US Air Force U2S Dragon Lady who was monitoring the Chinese spy balloon as it traveled through US airspace earlier this month.
During the balloon’s flight, it was regularly followed by US spy planes before it was shot down over the South Carolina coast on February 4.
Before the release of the image, CNN reported that the selfie had achieved “legendary status” within the US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Pentagon.
The photo shows the shadow cast by the U2 aircraft on top of the globe’s surface. Authorities said the spy craft had reached altitudes of 60 to 70,000 feet during its mission.
According to a report from unit, the U2S Dragon Lady is the only aircraft in the US arsenal that could reach the height necessary to take a photo from above the balloon.
The photo taken from the cockpit of a U2 spy plane shows the surface of the globe from an angle never seen before.
Since February 4, four objects have been shot down, including the Chinese spy balloon, and then three ‘UFOs’.
State Department officials said US ‘flyovers’ had determined that the balloon was ‘capable of conducting signals intelligence gathering operations’.
Navy, Coast Guard and FBI personnel are believed to have collected all of the balloon’s debris from the ocean floor, which included key equipment from the payload that could reveal what information it was able to monitor and collect.
US Northern Command said in a statement that recovery operations ended Thursday and final pieces are on their way to the FBI laboratory in Virginia for analysis. He said air and sea restrictions off South Carolina have been lifted.
The announcement capped a dramatic three weeks in which US warplanes shot down four airborne objects: the Chinese balloon on February 4 and three much smaller objects about a week later over Canada, Alaska and Lake Huron.
The Chinese spy balloon drifts into the ocean after being shot down off the South Carolina coast on February 4.
US Navy shows Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, earlier this month.
The remains of the downed balloon from earlier this month are being saved for investigation.