2023 Chinese balloon incident
Aerial espionage and shootdown incident / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a high-altitude balloon originating from China flew across North American airspace, including Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States.[2] On February 4, the U.S. Air Force shot down the balloon over U.S. territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina. Debris from the wreckage was recovered and sent to the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis.[1] Following a preliminary analysis of the debris in June, U.S. officials stated that the balloon carried intelligence-gathering equipment but does not appear to have sent information back to China.[3] U.S. president Joe Biden described the balloon as carrying two railroad cars' equivalent of spy equipment, however stated that it was "not a major breach", and that he also believed that the Chinese leadership was not aware of the balloon. The U.S. government said the balloon had a propeller for maneuverability.[4][5][6]
Date | January 28 – February 4, 2023 (2023-01-28 – 2023-02-04) |
---|---|
Location | Airspace over the United States, Canada, and territorial waters |
Type | Airspace violation; diplomatic incident |
Cause | High-altitude Chinese balloon entering foreign airspace |
Motive | force majeure due to westerlies or reconnaissance (allegedly) |
Participants | |
Outcome | Balloon downed by an AIM-9 Sidewinder fired by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor; debris recovered[1] |
When the object was first spotted, the Pentagon characterized it as a surveillance balloon. The Chinese government maintained it was a civilian (mainly meteorological) airship that had been blown off course.[7] According to U.S. officials, the balloon carried antennas and other equipment capable of geolocating communications signals, and similar balloons from China have flown over more than 40 nations.[8] Analysts said that its flight path and structural characteristics were dissimilar from those of a typical weather balloon.[9] American officials later disclosed that they had been tracking the balloon since it was launched from Hainan and its original destinations were likely Guam and Hawaii,[lower-alpha 1] but prevailing winds blew it off course and across North America.[11]
The incident increased U.S.–China tensions. The United States called the balloon's presence a violation of its sovereignty, and its Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a long-awaited diplomatic visit to Beijing.[12][13][14] Canada summoned the Chinese ambassador in response to the incident.[15]
Forensics of the wreckage have confirmed that the balloon's sensors had never been activated while it was flying over the continental US, and so it didn't transmit any intelligence back to China.[16] In December 2023, NBC news reported that according to US intelligence officials, the balloon had made use of a commercially available American internet service provider to communicate, and that it was "primarily for navigation".[17]
Three other high-altitude objects, over Northern Alaska (February 10),[18] Yukon (February 11),[19] and Lake Huron (February 11–12) respectively, were detected and subsequently shot down; a later assessment said they had no relation to China.[20][21]