A US pilot captured a surprising close-up {photograph} of the Chinese spy balloon only a day earlier than American forces shot it down off the South Carolina coast two weeks in the past.
The Pentagon on Wednesday night time launched the picture, taken on Feb 3, which reveals the the highest of the pilot’s helmet contained in the U-2 cockpit with the balloon flying beneath.
The balloon will be seen hovering over the continental US, in line with the Division of Protection.
The balloon made headlines all over the world because it flew excessive above the US – prompting hypothesis and conspiracy theories starting from aliens to top-secret navy manoeuvres.
It was eventually shot down on Feb 4 by an F-22 fighter jet firing a AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. The strike passed off as soon as the balloon was not over land however was nonetheless inside American territorial waters.
