Pentagon Releases U-2 Pilot’s Close-up Photo of Chinese Spy Balloon

The Pentagon released Wednesday a close-up photograph taken by U-2 pilots high above the Chinese spy satellite before the U.S. Air Force brought it down off South Carolina.

This photo shows the top view of the pilot’s helmet in the U-2 cockpit, as the balloon flew below.

According to the caption by the U.S. Defense Department this photo was taken on February 3, 2005 as the large, white orb “hovered over the Central Continental United States.”

The photo is released publicly more than two months after the balloon was featured in international news as it crossed the U.S. continent.

Breitbart News reports that an F-22 fighter plane fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon, bringing it down on February 4. reported.

You can watch as the U.S. Air Force takes down the Chinese spy ball.

@RealUSC via Storiesful

U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, originally designed in the 1950s for spying on the Soviet Union high above the ground, can fly higher than 60,000 feet. This is the same height as the Chinese balloon, as it traversed the country.

The strike occurred when the balloon was not over land, but still within sovereign U.S. territory waters.

Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, confirmed Wednesday that the payload of the submarine has been recovered from the seafloor and is currently being analysed by FBI.

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