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The Chinese spy balloon shot down by a US F-22 fighter jet is thought to be the size of 3 buses and could have been a platform for a covert nuclear strike. Photo/via NDTV
WASHINGTON – United States of America (USA) with an F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jet, had shot it down Chinese spy balloon which had hovered at the American nuclear weapons site in Montana. Analysts estimate the balloon is about the size of three buses and equipped with advanced technology as a platform for a covert nuclear strike.
The use of balloons to conduct spy missions dates back to the Cold War but modern systems can take advantage of the latest developments in surveillance technology.
The Pentagon said the Chinese balloon hovered about 60,000 feet over the center of the continental United States at noon ET (Eastern Time) on Friday.
Its route had passed through Montana, sparking fears that the balloon was gathering intelligence on a nuclear missile site there.
Also read: US: F-22 Fighter Jets Shoot Down Chinese Spy Balloons
China claimed on Friday that it was a civilian balloon being used for meteorological and weather research.
But in a briefing hours later, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said: “We know it’s a reconnaissance balloon.”
Worryingly, defense analysts suspect that the balloons could be used as delivery platforms for nuclear weapons.
A 2015 report for the American Leadership & Policy Foundation said balloons launched by rogue states could carry nuclear payloads to the United States, use them for attacks, or disrupt power grids.
Report author Air Force Major David Stuckenberg wrote: “Using balloons as platforms can provide the enemy with a palette of height and payload options with which to maximize offensive effect against the US.”
