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US continues efforts to recover debris from downed Chinese balloon NHK

The US military is continuing efforts to recover debris from a Chinese balloon to figure out what kind of intelligence China may be trying to collect.

The US Department of Defense announced that an F22 fighter jet on Saturday downed the balloon over waters about 11 kilometers off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace.

China says it was a civilian-use balloon released for meteorological research. The United States says it was flown to conduct reconnaissance.

Senior US military officials said the debris spread out over an area of about 11 kilometers and at a depth of around 15 meters in the sea.

The military sent navy divers and vessels to the scene, reportedly with FBI and other counterintelligence officials aboard.

The balloon flew over the western state of Montana. A high-ranking Pentagon official said it even flew past sensitive sites. Montana is home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has intercontinental ballistic missile silos.
Summary
US downs Chinese balloon over South Carolina waters, suspected for intelligence collection. Debris spread across an 11 km area at a depth of around 15 meters in the sea. Navy divers and vessels with FBI and counterintelligence officials are recovering debris. The balloon previously flew over
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ID: 15378e50-5f98-45ca-854d-8f4d7ba16555

Category ID: nhk

URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230206_05/

Date: Feb. 6, 2023

Created: 2023/02/06 07:25

Updated: 2025/12/09 07:50

Last Read: 2023/02/06 07:38