London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 08, 2026

New photos show the Navy recovering downed China spy balloon off U.S. coast

New photos show the Navy recovering downed China spy balloon off U.S. coast

A Chinese spy balloon was shot down on orders of President Joe Biden, and his administration is considering other actions, Sen. Chuck Schumer said.

The U.S. Navy on Tuesday released photos showing the recovery of the remnants of a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the weekend on the orders of President Joe Biden off the coast of South Carolina.

The photos were taken Sunday, a day after an American fighter jet fired on the 200-foot-tall balloon, sending it hurtling down into the Atlantic Ocean in a dramatic scene caught live on TV.

China has claimed that the balloon, which first was spotted by the public flying over Montana last Wednesday, was a wayward “civilian unmanned airship” that was primarily conducting weather research.

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.

But Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the balloon was being used by China “in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”

Five Navy ships were involved in the effort to recover debris from the balloon over a 10-square-mile search area off the coast of Myrtle Beach.

The debris field was the size of 1,500 square meters, according to officials, who said the balloon’s payload weighed more than a ton.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday told reporters that the Biden administration “is looking at other actions that can be taken” in response to the balloon.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, said the current state of relations between the U.S. and China is “tense.”
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.


After the balloon was spotted, but before it was shot down, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken canceled a planned trip to China.

During a hearing on Capitol Hill, Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., said he “loves” Biden but disagreed with the dayslong delay in shooting down the balloon because of the time it gave the Chinese to collect additional data and intelligence by the aircraft flying over the U.S.

In response, a witness at the hearing, former National Security Council and National Economic Council member Peter Harrell, said that Blinken’s decision to postpone his trip to China is the start of a response, not the end.

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.


Rep. Ann Wagner, a Missouri Republican, said she and her family watched as the balloon flew over her home state.

“President Biden’s decision to let the [Chinese Communist Party] balloons travel the length and breadth of the United States of America was an unpardonable show of weakness on the world stage,” Wagner said.

“I am calling on the administration to restore America’s ability to deter reckless provocations. The stakes of strategic competition with China are exceedingly high,” she said. “And if the CCP’s influence continues to spread and unchallenged, American communities will pay a price.”

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that the balloon is suspected of being the fifth Chinese surveillance balloon detected over the continental U.S. since 2017.

Kirby said three of those balloons flew over the U.S. during the Trump administration, while there was another one during Biden’s tenure in the White House besides this most recent one.

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.


Former President Donald Trump has said he was never informed that a Chinese balloon had passed over the U.S. when he was in office.

Kirby said the three balloons during Trump’s tenure were only discovered after he left office in January 2021.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
×