UPDATE…..
The Chinese Spy Ballon over the US has been SHOT DOWN over the Atlantic Coast line…..
A U.S. Air Force fighter jet fired a single missile into the balloon six miles off the coast of South Carolina, when it was over the Atlantic Ocean in U.S. territorial waters, officials said Saturday. There were no reports of injuries.
“President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an emailed statement. “After careful analysis, U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area, due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload.”
As of 3:45 p.m. Saturday, U.S. vessels were searching for debris in the water, a senior military official said. The debris landed in relatively shallow water, giving officials confidence that parts could be recovered.
“Shooting the balloon down could enable the U.S. to recover sensitive [Chinese] equipment,” the senior defense official said….
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The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.
President Joe Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.
China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”…
Define ….’Will take care of’?
President Biden has come under withering criticism for NOT ‘taking care’ (Shooting Down?) of the massive Chinese spy ballon flying over America….
Biden is NOT a guy who likes to flex militarily ….
We’ll see how this goes….
The Ballon is approaching the US East Coast as do this post….
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the United States is “going to take care of” a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been tracked flying across the United States.
Biden made his remark in response to a question about whether the United States would shoot down the high-altitude surveillance balloon, which has been flying across the country in what Washington calls a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty.
The president, who has not previously spoken about the suspected spy balloon, did not elaborate on what was planned. Military leaders considered shooting down the high-altitude surveillance balloon this week but eventually recommended against this because of the risk of falling debris, officials said….
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The FAA has halted flight’s around the ballons flight path….
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a ground stop for three airports in the Carolinas as a suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts through the area, a spokesperson confirmed in a statement.
The administration also restricted airspace near Myrtle Beach between 12:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. ET. for “national defense airspace.”
The affected airports are in Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
“The FAA has paused departures to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” according to the statement from the FAA.
During a ground stop, all aircraft that meet specific criteria must stay on the ground.
The area of the Temporary Flight Restriction near Myrtle Beach is about 140 nautical miles wide, or about 20,000 square miles. This bans all aircraft from the airspace — mostly from the coastline from Charleston to Wilmington and areas to the south and east.
The notice comes as the balloon has been spotted over various parts of the Carolinas Saturday. It is on trajectory to drift off the coast soon, according to a NOAA weather model….
This post has been Update @ 10;48 PM EST
No sooner had Republican extremists like Majorie Taylor Green and Republican losers like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz blasted Biden for not shooting down the balloon sooner ,than it was revealed that during the previous Republican administration ,balloons crossed into US three times with no action taken.
Trump steals the headline’s from Biden again in a GOOD way for Biden….