Chinese spy craft was 200 feet tall and weighed several thousand pounds, according to officials
New details are emerging about the Chinese Spy balloon that flew over the continental United States from coast to coast.
The United States Navy recovered the Chinese spy craft after it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend.
According to the Pentagon, it was 200 feet tall, weighed a couple of thousand pounds, the debris spanned 15 football fields. The equipment onboard included photographic material and possible explosives to deflate the balloon.
China says it was a civilian balloon—but U.S. officials aren’t’ buying that explanation.
“The PRC knows precisely why this was in our airspace, the PRC knows precisely what this was doing over the United States, and ultimately the PRC knows precisely why we did what we did,” said Ned Price State Department spokesperson.
The Chinese spy craft also travelled over sophisticated ICBM locations and other military facilities.
Lawmakers briefed on the situation and say this wasn’t the first time.
“What we were told is there were multiple incursions over Florida, one over Texas, and then there’s been separate reporting—we haven’t been able to ask about yet—over Hawaii and Guam. So, what were the extent of these incursions?” asked Congressman Michael Waltz (R-FL).
As lawmakers are demanding answers from the Biden administration about why they allowed the balloon to continue its mission for a week and why the balloon allowed to enter U.S. airspace—China admitted that a second balloon spotted over Latin America is theirs—again—alleging that the aircraft is ‘civilian’ in nature and shifted off course because of weather.
All eyes will certainly be on U.S. President Joe Biden when he delivers his state of the union address on Tuesday evening to see if he will discuss the international incident or take a harder line against China.
