Officials Share More Details On Chinese Balloon As Debris Sought

Brian Everstine February 06, 2023

Cmdr. Brad A. Fancher, commanding officer of the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50), observes the debris field of a high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon shot down by a U.S. Air Force fighter jet over the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 4.
 

Credit:  Lt.j.g. Jerry Ireland
Before shooting at a Chinese spy balloon from 58,000 ft. on Feb. 4, mission planners were not aware of an F-22 having ever fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder at any target at that altitude similar to the 200-ft.-tall balloon drifting over the Atlantic Ocean, a defense official says. Gen. Glen VanHerck...
Brian Everstine

Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, he covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times.

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