A U.S. Official says that the U.S. Military has shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean.
The balloon was first spotted over the state of Montana by residents in the cities of Helena and Billings on Wednesday, and travelled on an eastward trajectory due to weather patterns over the continental U.S.
The Military did not shoot down the Balloon initially, citing concerns of the debris from the balloon, which was the size of two school buses and made of metal, landing over property and individuals. Despite the Pentagon’s assessment, there were calls from many U.S. officials to shoot down the balloon earlier over concerns of the type of intelligence the balloon was able to gather about the United States.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also post-poned a previously planned trip to China citing the balloon. The meeting had been in the works for months, and was a result of the summit President Biden held with Chinese President Xi-Jinping last year.