Chinese Spy Balloon Recovery Operation Is Complete

The operation to recover the debris of the Chinese spy balloon shot down over the Atlantic Ocean is complete. Officials said that debris from the balloon, which was about 200 feet tall and had a payload the size of a regional jet, was spread out over several miles.

"Recovery operations concluded Feb. 16 off the coast of South Carolina, after U.S. Navy assets assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully located and retrieved debris from the high-altitude PRC surveillance balloon shot down Feb. 4, 2023," the United States Navy said in a statement.

"Final pieces of debris are being transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia for counterintelligence exploitation, as has occurred with the previous surface and subsurface debris recovered," the statement continued. "U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard vessels have departed the area. Air and maritime safety perimeters have been lifted."

U.S. officials said that the high-altitude balloon was capable of collecting signals intelligence and taking photographs. The U.S. began tracking the balloon right after it launched from Hainan Island near China's south coast. The balloon is believed to have been blown off course and floated over Alaska before crossing into Canada and then back into the United States over Idaho.

While the balloon did fly over sensitive military sites in Montana, the military worked to minimize its ability to collect intelligence as it floated across the country before it was shot down off the coast of South Carolina.