Pentagon releases selfie of US U-2 pilot showing Chinese spy balloon in air

The Pentagon has released a selfie taken in the cockpit of a U2 spy plane as an Air Force pilot flew above the large suspected Chinese surveillance balloon before it was shot down by the US military this monthThe selfie image taken by the pilot of the U2 on February 3 shows the shadow of the aircraft on the balloon and a clear image of the balloons payload as it crossed across the continental United StatesThe balloon carrying a payload the size of three coach buses was first spotted by the US military on January 28 and ultimately shot down by a US Air Force fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on February 4 after crossing the countryThe US defence department did not identify the U2 pilot in the selfie but the authenticity of the image was confirmed during a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday by Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina SinghAddressing a media briefing Singh said that the search operations to recover sensors and other debris from the balloon which tumbled into the Atlantic Ocean concluded last weekAlso readAlleged Khalistani sympathiser supporters wielding swords clash with police in AmritsarShe said that the majority of the balloon including the payload was recoveredA senior State Department official said earlier this month that flybys revealed that the highaltitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operationsUS officials said they decided against shooting the balloon down over the country because of its size fearing falling debris could hurt civilians or property on the ground Gen Glen VanHerck commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD later said the balloon was 200 feet tall with a payload that weighed a couple of thousand poundsThe US sent up U2 spy planes to track the balloons progress according to officialsThe Chinese balloon was said to be hovering at 60000 feet in the air U2 spy planes routinely fly at altitudes over 70000 feet according to the US Air ForceThe U2 singleseater reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft were previously flown by the CIAUS National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a recent news briefing that the recovered material was now at the FBI laboratory in QuanticoIts quite a bit its a significant amount including the payload structure as well as some of the electronics and the optics he saidChina has maintained that the balloon was a weather ship blown off course and criticised the use of force to bring it down as an overreaction and a violation of international normsBut the US says the balloon was part of a sprawling Chinese intelligence collection programme on America and its alliesThe downing of the Chinese balloon has escalated the diplomatic and military strain between the worlds two largest economiesWhat was meant to be a highprofile visit for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China earlier this month instead transformed into a standoff testing President Joe Bidens resolve at a new moment of reckoning with Beijing which has increasingly flexed its muscles in the IndoPacific and elsewhereThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever