WASHINGTON (AP) — A U-2 pilot flying above the Chinese spy balloon took a close-up photo of the great white globe just a day before the Air Force shot it down off the coast of South Carolina.
The photo shows the top of the pilot’s helmet inside the U-2 cockpit, with the balloon flying below.
It was taken on Feb. 3 as the balloon “hovered over the central continental United States,” according to a caption provided by the Department of Defense.
The Pentagon released the image on Wednesday, more than two weeks after the balloon made international headlines as it transited the United States.
Department of Defense via Associated Press
The balloon was shot down on February 4 by an F-22 fighter jet firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. The attack took place when the balloon was no longer on land, but still in US territorial waters.
The U-2 Dragon Lady is an American high-altitude spy plane that has been in service since the 1950s.
The Pentagon announced Friday that military ships and submarines have completed the recovery of the giant balloon and its payload, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
The payload was recovered from the ocean floor and is being analyzed by the FBI, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday.
The downing led to three other smaller objects being downed by Air Force planes within eight days: one over Alaska, one over Canada, and one over Lake Huron. Your search for Alaska and Lake Huron articles has ended.
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