“POP!” Goes the Weasel

The White House has released details pertaining to the shooting down of a Chinese spay balloon which—despite the full knowledge of the Pentagon and Biden administration—was allowed to traverse the entirety of the Pacific Ocean, Aleutian Archipelago, and continental United States—including numerous sensitive military, civilian, and nuclear installations.

A senior U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) official stated on Saturday, 04 February 2023 that the Chinese spy balloon had been shot down off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at 14:39 EST by a single air-to-air A9X sidewinder missile fired by a United States Air Force F-22 Raptor scrambled from Virginia’s Langley Air Force Base. The aircraft fired the missile at an altitude of 58,000-feet; the balloon was struck at an altitude of between 60,000 and 65,000-feet.

The balloon’s wreckage went down approximately six-miles off South Carolina’s Atlantic coast. The resultant debris field is reportedly some seven-miles wide. U.S. officials state the depth of the water in the vicinity of the point at which the balloon struck the ocean’s surface is a relatively shallow 47-feet.

The timeline by which the balloon’s wreckage is to be recovered is unknown. A U.S. Navy salvage vessel is expected to arrive at the crash-site within 48-hours.

The unnamed DOD official alleged the U.S. military had gathered intelligence information on the balloon as it passed over the American heartland, stating: "I can't go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable as Chinese officials have themselves acknowledged.”

The loquacious DOD official went on to corroborate Joe Biden’s claims that the U.S. military had been granted presidential permission to shoot down the balloon on Saturday, 04 February, but had delayed the mission’s execution on account of concern for the safety of people on the ground.

The DOD official professed that Saturday afternoon "was the first available opportunity to successfully bring down their surveillance balloon in a way that would not pose a threat to the safety of Americans, which are military assets."

Biden has been criticized by the American people, state governors, and D.C. lawmakers for his failure to order the balloon’s destruction in a timely manner. Modern telemetry and satellite communication technology all but assure Beijing received a constant stream of real-time data from the spy balloon as it passed over U.S. missile installations, military bases, nuclear power facilities and additional, similarly critical, military and civilian infrastructure.  

FMI: www.defense.gov