VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A weeklong saga that had much of the country watching the skies for the small white speck — that federal officials believe was a Chinese spy balloon — ended with a “bang” delivered by a fighter jet stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton.
The F-22 from Langley’s 1st Fighter Wing fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. The large white orb — with what looked like a satellite-esque structure on the bottom — was destroyed about six miles off the South Carolina coast Saturday afternoon, according to the Department of Defense.
No one was injured in the operation and the balloon never posed a military or physical threat, defense officials said. Navy and Coast Guard vessels are engaged in a recovery effort, which is expected to be “fairly easy” because the water where the balloon was shot down was only about 47 feet deep, according to the DOD.
