Chinese Spy Balloon Incident
2023 shootdown of a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the US, initially causing public UAP confusion
| Chinese Spy Balloon Incident | |
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| Date | January 28 – February 4, 2023 |
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| Location | Continental United States (Montana to South Carolina coast) |
| Type | Confirmed foreign surveillance craft |
| Status | Officially identified and confirmed |
A large Chinese government high-altitude balloon, assessed by U.S. officials as carrying surveillance sensors, was tracked crossing Alaska and Canada before transiting the continental United States and was shot down by a U.S. Air Force F-22 off the coast of South Carolina after a period of public visibility and debate over the appropriate response.
Assessment
China stated the balloon was a civilian meteorological research airship blown off course, which U.S. officials rejected given its documented surveillance payload and flight pattern over sensitive military sites. The incident’s high public visibility directly preceded and is sometimes conflated with the unrelated February 2023 US Airspace Object Shootdowns days later.
[1]See also
References
- ^ U.S. Department of Defense press briefings, February 2023.