The United States military shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Saturday.
The balloon was shot down by military jets off the coast of South Carolina Saturday afternoon, according to a Department of Defense news release.
“This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace,” the release states.
The balloon was being used by the People’s Republic of China in an effort to survey confidential and strategic sights in the U.S.
President Biden gave the authorization to shoot down the balloon on Wednesday, according to the release.
Video of fighter jets shooting the balloon down could be seen online, and the video has been shared throughout social media.
U.S. military officials discussed where to bring the balloon down and decided it was better to shoot the surveillance balloon down over U.S. waters.
The Canadian government worked in conjunction with the U.S. government to track and bring the spy balloon down. The U.S. and Canada tracked the balloon across North America using NORAD.
Speaking to Fox News, a U.S. government official said that the government can potentially salvage the balloon.
A spokesperson for the PRC told U.S. officials that the balloon is a “civilian airship” being used for meteorological purposes and deviated from its planned course.
“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” the spokesperson said. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.”
The Pentagon did not believe the statement.
The Dallas Express contacted the office of Ted Cruz, the Department of Defense, and the People’s Republic of China’s U.S. Embassy in Washington D.C. for comment; however, no comment was made at the time of the deadline.