Third Chinese spy balloon is 'operating near US interests' - but officials ... trends now
A third Chinese spy balloon could be lingering near US interests, but officials won't say where it is.
An anonymous source told the Washington Post a third balloon is likely operating near the US after the first balloon was discovered hovering over Montana on Thursday and another was found above Latin America on Friday.
The first balloon was shot down by an F-22 Raptor out of Langley Air Force base with a single AIM-9X sidewinder missile at 2.38pm today off the coast of South Carolina.
A source told the Post that the discovery of the balloons was an embarrassment to the Chinese, who are 'freaked' out by the incident. 'They’re in a very tough place,' the source told the outlet. 'And they have very few cards to play right now.'
China had said the first balloon was collecting weather data when it was blown off course. However, on Saturday, two officials told the Washington Post that the balloons were part of a Chinese military surveillance program that relies on technology that helps supply the People’s Liberation Army.
A third Chinese spy balloon could be lingering near US interests, but officials won't say where it's at. The first balloon discovered (pictured) was shot down over the coast of South Carolina around 2.30pm today
An anonymous source told the Washington Post a third balloon is likely operating near the US (pictured: the balloon shot down near South Carolina)
Officials 'don't know' exactly what the balloons do, just that they have 'some sophisticated communications gear.'
The first balloon spotted in Montana was hovering over a US military base that houses nuclear missile silos. Officials had worked to make sure the balloon wouldn't be able to get information from the site but did not elaborate on how.
'We took very early action to make sure those sites don’t show anything that anybody would find interesting,' a defense official had told the Post.
Joe Biden praised the Top Gun fighter jet pilot who shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina today after he vowed to 'take care of it.'
Footage showed the jet screaming towards the spy aircraft before firing the missile as stunned locals watched from the coast.
An operation was underway to recover the wreckage and retrieve any valuable intelligence before it sinks into the ocean.
Biden told reporters: 'I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible without doing damage to anyone on the ground. They decided that the best time to do that was when it got over water.'
A second Chinese spy balloon was reported flying over Latin America, with many taking photos of a balloon hovering above Venezuela (left). The sighting comes after a surveillance balloon was spotted flying over Montana (right)
'They successfully took it down it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,' the President said as he stepped off Air Force One en route to Camp David at Hagerstown Regional Airport, Maryland.
The Pentagon confirmed: 'The balloon, which was being used by the People's Republic of China in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.'
Defense officials estimated the balloon was about the size of three buses and that any debris field would be substantial.
The airspace in the Carolinas has now reopened after the Federal Aviation Authority announced a 'ground stop' at Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington's international airports shortly after 1pm.
The Coast Guard earlier advised mariners to immediately leave the area due to military operations 'that present a significant hazard.'
Ahead of the strike, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, as well as F-22 Raptors were observed flying in the area, along with a US Navy P-8a Poseidon patrol aircraft. A Coast Guard HC-130 search-and-rescue plane also took off from Wilmington.
The aircraft was tracking towards the Carolinas this morning and exited the east coast by noon after passing over a sensitive nuclear missile site in Montana dubbed America's 'Doomsday Base'
The F-22s flew with the call signs 'FRANK01' and 'FRANK02' in a possible homage to World War One ace and Medal of Honor recipient First Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr, dubbed the 'Arizona Balloon Buster' for taking out German observation balloons.
The Biden administration confirmed the shoot-down order around 2pm after the President this morning vowed, 'We're gonna take care of it,' as he stepped off Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, upstate NY.
Biden gave the order as it emerged that a Chinese spy balloon had been spotted over Latin America, passing over the Panama Canal and moving southeast over Venezuela.
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