WASHINGTON Feb 4 balloon, which is considered reconnaissance, said a senior US Department of Defense official.
«I can't go into more detail, but we had the opportunity to study the ball and equipment that is of value,» a Pentagon spokesman told reporters.
The department has no doubt that the balloon served to collect intelligence. They rejected Chinese claims that it was a meteorological probe, a Pentagon spokesman said.
The United States has informed Beijing that it shot down a device off the coast of South Carolina, he said.
The balloon was shot down by an air-to-air missile launched from an F-22 fighter jet, the Pentagon said.
Earlier, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that the military, on behalf of President Joe Biden, on Saturday shot down a Chinese-owned balloon that fell into American airspace. According to the Pentagon chief, the device was used to monitor strategic facilities.
The United States noticed the ball at the beginning of last month, it was reported to Biden. On Saturday, the American leader said he ordered the shooting down of a reconnaissance balloon last Wednesday, but heeded the advice of the Pentagon and decided not to endanger those on the ground. The balloon flew from the Aleutian Islands through the territory of Canada and reached the state of Montana. The balloon's movements are tracked by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). In connection with the situation, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken postponed his visit to China. China, in turn, said that it does not accept unfounded speculation and hype because of the situation with the device. Beijing said that the situation was caused by force majeure, the device is a weather balloon that deviated from the route.