February 4, 2023 US shoots down Chinese spy balloon off East Coast

The US military has downed the suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, a US official says. 

President Joe Biden approved shooting down the balloon, the same US official told CNN.

Navy assets and Coast Guard assets are on standby if required for any possible recovery efforts, a defense official told CNN prior to the balloon being shot down.

The balloon was first spotted in the sky over Montana earlier this week and traveled across the middle of the country, following weather patterns before it exited the continental United States on Saturday.

Prior to the balloon being shot down, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for airports in Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The FAA also restricted airspace near Myrtle Beach “to support the Defense Department in a national security effort.”

Top military officials had advised against shooting down the balloon while over the continental US because of the risk the debris could pose to civilians and property on the ground, but officials had maintained that all options remained on the table.  

Earlier Saturday, Biden had told reporters in Syracuse, New York, that his administration was “gonna take care” of the balloon when asked by CNN if the US would shoot it down. He had been discussing options with military brass since first being briefed on the balloon Tuesday.

On Friday, the Pentagon said the balloon did not pose a military or political threat.

China's Foreign Ministry has said the balloon entered US airspace by accident. But the State Department has said the presence of the balloon over US territory was "a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred."

The discovery of the balloon prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his highly anticipated diplomatic visit to China, saying the incident "created the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip."

CNN's Pete Muntean contributed reporting to this post.

The Federal Aviation Administration's ground stop in the Carolinas has been extended to 3:30 p.m. ET as officials monitor a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon in the area.

The affected airports are in Wilmington, North Carolina; Charleston, South Carolina; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The original ground stop was from 12:45 p.m. ET to 2:45 p.m. ET for "national defense airspace.”

During a ground stop, all aircraft that meet specific criteria must stay on the ground.

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.

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.

Flight-tracking websites that show military aircraft activity show several noteworthy flight profiles off the coast of the Carolinas on Saturday, in line with the expected trajectory of the suspected Chinese spy balloon.

The Pentagon has not confirmed that any of the US military aircraft in the area are related to the balloon.

As of 1 p.m. ET, two Air Force KC-135R refueling tankers were flying off the coast of South Carolina above 20,000 feet, according to ADS-B Exchange and Flight Radar 24. The tankers appear to be in separate holding patterns.

A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules is flying at low level off the coast of North Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Sites such as ADS-B Exchange and Flight Radar 24 show the C-130, which took off from the Coast Guard base at Elizabeth City around 9:15 a.m. ET, flying at approximately 4,000 feet near Wilmington, close to where the balloon is anticipated to cross the east coast and fly over the water.

For context: Fighter jets that may be used to target the balloon would not necessarily appear on flight-tracking websites, so the tankers may be the only publicly visible indication that fighters are in the area.

Fighter jets would have to fly in from bases in the region and may need refueling, especially with the uncertain speed and path of the balloon.

There is other military aircraft activity in the area, but the planes listed above are the most notable given the projected trajectory of the balloon. 

The suspected Chinese spy balloon has been spotted in the skies over York County, South Carolina, after crossing over state lines from North Carolina, the York County Sheriff’s Office said in a verified tweet.

“It’s flying at 60,000 + feet. Don’t try to shoot it!! Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it,” the sheriff's office told residents in the post.

See the tweet:

An airborne vehicle similar to the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon seen flying over the United States has been spotted in at least two Latin American countries this week. 

CNN is aware of at least half a dozen eyewitnesses in Latin America who have reported seeing the white balloon, sharing video and images on social media of its flight over Costa Rica and Colombia. CNN is unable to confirm if the images show a Chinese surveillance balloon.

Colombian media are reporting sightings of a balloon flying at about 70,000 feet over the South American country’s airspace, citing the Colombian military.

There have also been reports that there was a balloon seen flying over Costa Rica, which could be the same one as seen in Colombia.

Neither the Colombian government nor Costa Rica have issued any confirmation or official statement so far regarding any sightings. 

On Friday evening, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that "we are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon," without specifying the balloon's exact location. 

Esteban Carranza, a lawyer from Costa Rica, posted a video of the balloon on Twitter Thursday, saying that "the same type of balloon spotted in the US was visible all day in the Costa Rican sky." 

Carranza told CNN that he filmed the white balloon flying above the Costa Rican capital of San José. CNN geolocated the video to Escazú Village, a shopping mall at San José.

"I looked at the object for around 45 minutes from different locations, completely still, and a few hours later went back out again and it was still there, in the exact same place. Lots of people were looking at it from different parts of the city. Even though not a UFO, it was still very unusual and therefore an exciting experience," he added. 

The object was also spotted above Colombia near the city of Valledupar, according to video shared with CNN.

Luis Armando Toloza Calvo shot the video on Friday at 12:13 p.m. ET using his cell phone and a telescope.

Initially, a white dot is seen floating in the sky before Calvo directs his cell phone lens to his telescope to get a better view of the object.  

President Joe Biden said his administration will handle a suspected Chinese spy balloon traversing the eastern United States. 

“We're gonna take care of it,” Biden said, when questioned by CNN’s Sam Fossum on whether he would shoot down the balloon. 

Biden has been discussing options with military brass since first being briefed on the balloon Tuesday. His advisers warned against shooting it down over land because debris could land on people or homes.

Biden was speaking at an airfield in Syracuse, New York, where he is visiting family. 

Evan Fisher, a meteorology major at UNC Asheville, saw the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon drift near the western North Carolina city this morning.

"We were expecting it to move over the western North Carolina area between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., but then to our surprise, it didn't show up until after sunrise, so I spotted it around 8:50 (a.m. ET) this morning, in the southern skies of the south of Asheville," he told CNN.

The balloon was "much larger than I expected it to be," he added.

Listen to more of the interview here:  

While the suspected Chinese spy balloon floating over the continental United States is dominating current headlines, Beijing and Washington have a long history of spying on each other.

The US has used its own surveillance methods in China, including flying aircraft over disputed islands claimed by Beijing, using human sources and monitoring signal intercepts.

American officials have sought to distinguish US actions from what they say is more brazen spying carried out by China's government. But Chinese officials say a similar thing – repeatedly accusing the US of espionage.

Here’s what we know about Chinese spy efforts:

Read more on the history of US-China spying here.