Concerns have grown that China may reach the wreckage of their downed spy balloon before the US Navy as a salvage vessel won’t be on the scene for days.
US officials confirmed that an F-22 Raptor fighter jet shot down the balloon with a single AIM-9X sidewinder missile at 2.38pm on Saturday, six miles off the coast of South Carolina.
A senior military advisor told Fox News that the debris field was about seven-miles wide, with the depth of the waters estimated at 47 feet.
While multiple Navy and Coast Guard vessels are in the area establishing a security and search perimeter, the senior advisor said an official salvage vessel won’t arrive until a couple of days.
There is currently no timeline on the recovery of the balloon from the Atlantic Ocean after its presence shocked the nation while it hovered over several nuclear silos before going down.
Footage of the jet shooting down the balloon showed the aircraft screaming towards it before firing a missile as stunned locals watched from the coast.
President Joe Biden praised the Top Gun fighter jet pilot who shot it down, telling 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.’
‘They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,’ the President added as he stepped off Air Force One en route to Camp David at Hagerstown Regional Airport, Maryland.
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