London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 02, 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
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
Sainsbury Agrees to Sell Argos in £120 Million Deal to Private Consortium
High Court Clears Way for Construction of Chinese Embassy at Royal Mint Court
UK Fuel Prices Climb to Multi-Month Highs as Strait of Hormuz Tensions Disrupt Oil Supplies
Severe Summer Drought and Record Heat Put UK Harvests at Risk
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backbench Opposition Over Potential Support for New North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
Bank of England Warns Inflation Will Stay Above 3% as Middle East Energy Shock Prolongs Cost-of-Living Pressures
Andy Burnham has Announces Plans to Redistribute Income Tax Revenue to English Mayors
Early-Release Scheme Faces Fresh Scrutiny as Reoffending and Prison Recalls Rise
Police Phone Checks Followed Report on Murder of MI5 Agent Inside Sinn Féin
Archbishop of Canterbury Reaffirms £100 Million Reparative Justice Fund During Ghana Visit
Charities Allege French Police Used Tear Gas Against Channel Migrants
Norwegian Teenager Convicted Over Iran-Linked Murder Plot in Britain
Christian Organisations File Charity Complaints Against Amnesty International UK
Ofgem Tightens Grid Connection Rules for New Data Centres
FTSE 100 Reaches Record High Despite Global Technology Sell-Off
Millions of UK Households Urged to Check Eligibility for Winter Energy Discount
Labour Restores Parliamentary Whips to Diane Abbott and Joani Reid
UK Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Over Palestine Action Ban
UK Commits More Than £8.4 Billion to Dreadnought Nuclear Submarine Programme
England Declares Severe Drought as Wildfire Burns Near Sizewell Nuclear Site
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks
Drought Status Extended Across All of Wales as Heat and Dry Weather Deepen Environmental Strain
Record-Low Danube Exposes Probable Mammoth Remains in Bulgaria
UK Business Confidence Climbs to Four-Month High
Greater Manchester Gains Expanded Powers Under Regional Funding Reforms
UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Over Palestine Action Terror Ban
Shell's Quarterly Profit Doubles to Nearly $10 Billion on Higher Energy Prices
UK Government Removes VAT From Household Electricity Bills
Exceptional Drought Grips Half of England as Wildfire Threatens Sizewell
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% as Inflation Risks Persist
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
The chief executive of the popular gaming company laid off many employees and his pay rose to 38 million dollars
UK Employment Holds Steady as Wage Growth Remains Moderate
England to Introduce Artificial Intelligence into Secondary School Curriculum
Wales Launches £1.2 Billion Industrial Regeneration Programme
High Court Upholds UK Digital Surveillance Framework
Northern Ireland Reaches Budget Agreement on Infrastructure and Public Sector Pay
Home Office Expands Digital Border Checks Nationwide
UK Approves Major North Sea Wind and Carbon Capture Project
The World's Most Terrifying Smartphone: Recording, Documenting, and Reporting to the Regime
Scotland Approves Major Renewable Energy Expansion
UK and United States Sign AI and Semiconductor Cooperation Pact
UK Treasury Tightens Fiscal Controls After Gilt Market Volatility
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 4.5%
UK Unveils £10 Billion NHS Funding Overhaul and Workforce Reform
The AI User Nightmare: Private Claude Conversations Leaked to the Internet
UK: Former Football Association Leaders Call for World Cup Boycott Over FIFA Privatization Plan
Forbidden Love: China severs millions from their virtual partners
×