Biden praises Top Gun F-22 fighter jet pilot who shot down China spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina with a single missile - after the President vowed to 'take care of it' and the FAA closed airspace and three airports

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Joe Biden praised the Top Gun fighter jet pilot who shot down the Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina today after he vowed to 'take care of it.'

An F-22 Raptor out of Langley Air Force base took the balloon down with a single AIM-9X sidewinder missile at 2.38pm, separating its surveillance payload and sending it plummeting towards the ocean off Myrtle Beach.

Footage showed the jet screaming towards the spy aircraft before firing the missile as stunned locals watched from the coast. 

An operation was underway to recover the wreckage and retrieve any valuable intelligence before it sinks into the ocean.

Biden told reporters, 'I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible without doing damage to anyone on the ground. They decided that the best time to do that was when it got over water.'

'They successfully took it down it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,' the President said he stepped off Air Force One en route to Camp David at Hagerstown Regional Airport, Maryland.

The Pentagon confirmed: 'The balloon, which was being used by the People's Republic of China in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.' 

The balloon was seen bursting at 2.38pm and its payload - the metal structure carrying its cameras - appeared to have been separated as it plummeted towards the Atlantic off Myrtle Beach

Biden (boarding Air Force One this morning in Syracuse, NY) told reporters, 'I told them to shoot it down on Wednesday. They said to me let's wait for the safest place to do it'

Defense officials estimated the balloon was about the size of three buses and that any debris field would be substantial. 

The airspace in the Carolinas has now reopened after the Federal Aviation Authority announced a 'ground stop' at Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Wilmington's international airports shortly after 1pm. 

The Coast Guard earlier advised mariners to immediately leave the area due to military operations 'that present a significant hazard.' 

Ahead of the strike, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, as well as F-22 Raptors were observed flying in the area, along with a US Navy P-8a Poseidon patrol aircraft. A Coast Guard HC-130 search-and-rescue plane also took off from Wilmington. 

The F-22s flew with the call signs 'FRANK01' and 'FRANK02' in a possible homage to World War One ace and Medal of Honor recipient First Lieutenant Frank Luke Jr, dubbed the 'Arizona Balloon Buster' for taking out German observation balloons.

The Biden administration confirmed the shoot-down order around 2pm after the President this morning vowed, 'We're gonna take care of it,' as he stepped off Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, upstate NY. 

Biden gave the order as it emerged that a Chinese spy balloon had been spotted over Latin America, passing over the Panama Canal and moving southeast over Venezuela.

The Pentagon confirmed the second Chinese aircraft Friday night.

'We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,' chief Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said. 

But the Biden's administration's attempts to hide the blatant US airspace violation from the public for almost a week and inaction over the threat to national security have infuriated Republicans.

'Communist China's surveillance balloon violates international law and threatens our homeland,' Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) told The New York Post.

'It's an outrage that the Biden Administration spotted this balloon days ago as it was flying over the Aleutian Islands and did nothing about it,' she said. 'The president has not even made a comment about this unacceptable act of aggression by the CCP.'

Biden first became aware of the balloon last Sunday, January 28, when it was spotted over Alaska. The US military tracked it over Canadian airspace and as it re-entered US territory on Tuesday.

The following day, Biden was given a detailed report on the aircraft and its course, attended by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

Biden initially wanted to take it down but Milley and Austin argued the risk from falling debris was too great, sources revealed.   

Meanwhile, the administration went to the Chinese embassy for an explanation and continued making preparations for Blinken's landmark diplomatic visit.

The administration finally told the public on Thursday after local Montana paper, the Billings Gazette, published photos of the balloon.

'We successfully took it down it down and I want to compliment our aviators,' the President said he stepped off Air Force One en route to Camp David at Hagerstown Regional Airport, Maryland

Biden confirms he gave the order on Wednesday to the Pentagon to shoot it down as soon as possible

The aircraft was tracking towards the Carolinas this morning and exited the east coast by noon after passing over a sensitive nuclear missile site in Montana dubbed America's 'Doomsday Base'

Jets were seen flying close to the balloon around 1.30pm after a source revealed that defense officials were planning a shoot down and capture mission

The balloon, pictured over Montana, was tracked for several days but officials decided not to shoot it down until it was flying over the Atlantic ocean over fears debris could hit people or properties

READ MORE: Biden knew China spy balloon was in US airspace for nearly a WEEK but kept it secret - fearing Blinken's planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing would be derailed 

The decision to keep the story quiet as officials were worried the hysteria caused by the balloon would derail Secretary of State Antony Blinken's upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping

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The emergence of the spy aircraft comes on the heels of a classified report to Congress which outlined advanced new technology that US adversaries were harnessing to spy on the country.  

The report last month mentioned at least two incidents of a rival power conducting aerial surveillance with what appeared to be unknown cutting-edge technology, sources told The New York Times.

Although the report did not single out any country, two US officials familiar with the research named China.

The two sites where the unusual surveillance was detected included a military base in the US and another overseas. 

Since 2021, the Pentagon has studied 366 unexplained incidents and determined that 163 were balloons. 

A handful of these were advanced surveillance balloons, a US official told the Times.

Biden was last night slammed by the Governor of Montana over his inaction. Greg Gianforte said that as a result, 'Americans are endangered and our enemies are emboldened.' 

Speaking to Fox News, the Republican governor revealed that he was briefed earlier in the week that the Pentagon had been looking at taking it out.

'Clearly this went to the President's desk and he chose not to act,' Gianforte said.

He added: 'If it was up to Montanans this thing would have taken out the sky the moment it entered our sovereign airspace and it clearly had been there for a while. It's not moving that fast.'

China insisted the balloon is an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds. 

However, the US rejected that out of hand and Blinken cancelled his trip to Beijing, telling a senior Chinese diplomat that sending the balloon over the US was 'an irresponsible act'.

The President was last night slammed by the Governor of Montana over his inaction. Greg Gianforte (pictured in the Montana State Capitol on Jan. 25) said that as as a result, 'Americans are endangered and our enemies are emboldened.'

Stunned Montana residents Friday posted videos on social media of helicopters buzzing overhead after the emergence of the balloon

The footage, taken near Billings, Montana, appears to show Chinooks escorted by smaller helicopters 

Shooting the slow-moving, low-flying balloon down is not as simple as it sounds.

William Kim, a specialist in surveillance balloons at the Marathon Initiative think tank in Washington, told AFP that the target was resistant to missiles and bullets.

'These balloons use helium... It's not the Hindenburg, you can't just shoot it and then and then it goes up in flames,' he said.

'If you do punch holes in it, it's just kind of going to leak out very slowly.'

He said it was not clear if using surface-to-air missiles would work, because their guidance systems are designed to hit fast-moving missiles and aircraft. 

Kim said the Chinese balloon is also far more advanced and could be using artificial intelligence (AI), allowing it to steer through severe winds at extreme altitudes.

It has a significant, visible 'payload' - the electronics for guidance and collecting information, powered by large solar panels, he said.

AI has made it possible for a balloon, just by reading the changes in the air around it, to adjust its altitude to guide it where it wants to go, Kim said.

'Before you either had to have a tether... or you just send it up and it just goes wherever the wind takes it,' he said.

'What's happened very recently with advances in AI is that you can have a balloon that... doesn't need its own motion system. Merely by adjusting the altitude it can control its direction.'

That could also involve radio communications from its home base, he said.

But 'if the point of it is to monitor (intercontinental ballistic missile) silos, which is one of the theories... you wouldn't necessarily need to tell it to adjust its location,' he added.

Kim said that as satellites become more vulnerable to being attacked from the Earth and space, balloons have distinct advantages.

Firstly, they don't easily show up on radars.

'These are materials that don't reflect, they're not metal. So even though these balloons expand to quite large, detecting... the balloon itself is going to be a problem,' he said.

And the payload, if small enough, can be overlooked.

Balloons also have the advantage of holding relatively stationary positions over a surveillance target, compared to constantly orbiting satellites used by spy agencies to take photographs.

'These things can stay overhead, they can stay over one spot months at a time, compared to the low-Earth-orbit satellites,' Kim said.

Kim called it a 'real possibility' that a Chinese balloon may have been intended to collect data from outside US boundaries or much higher but malfunctioned.

'These balloons don't always work perfectly,' he said. He said it was 'definitely a little low (in the sky).'

The Chinese surveillance balloon is estimated to be about the width of three buses. The balloon is fitted with solar panels to power the on-board equipment, which could include long-range cameras and radar. It was traveling at an altitude of around 60,000ft on Friday afternoon, but the balloons can reach heights of around double that

'If you wanted it to be harder to spot, if you want it to be harder to shoot down, then it would make sense to operate at higher altitudes,' Kim said.

Even if it's not armed, the balloon poses a risk to the US, a former military leader has warned. Retired Army Gen. John Ferrari claimed the flight itself can be used to test America's ability to detect incoming threats and to find holes in the country's air defense warning system.

It may also allow the Chinese to sense electromagnetic emissions that higher-altitude satellites can't detect, such as low-power radio frequencies that could help them understand how different US weapons systems communicate.

He also said the Chinese may have sent the balloon 'to show us that they can do it, and maybe next time it could have a weapon. So now we have to spend money and time on it' developing defenses.

The discovery of the balloons dealt a new blow to already strained US-Chinese relations that have been in a downwards spiral for years over numerous issues.

Still, US officials maintained that diplomatic channels remain open and Blinken said he remained willing to travel to China 'when conditions allow'.

'We continue to believe that having open lines of communication is important,' he said.

A US State Department official said Blinken and deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman had both protested to the top official at the Chinese Embassy on Wednesday, a day before the Pentagon announced the discovery of the balloon.

A second Chinese spy balloon was reported flying over Latin America, with many taking photos of a balloon hovering above Venezuela (left). The sighting comes after a surveillance balloon was spotted flying Montana (right) 

A social media user shared this photo of the suspected Chinese spy balloon allegedly flying over Costa Rica yesterday

The aircraft has also sparked concerns that China could have deliberately sent the balloon to spy on US bases.

Montana Senator Steve Daines warned that the balloon might've been targeting his state's nuclear missile fields.

'Montana plays a vital national security role by housing nuclear missile silos at Malmstrom AFB,' Daines wrote to the Department of Defense. 

'Given the increased hostility and destabilization around the globe aimed at the United States and our allies, I am alarmed by the fact that this spy balloon was able to infiltrate the airspace of our country and Montana.'

Blinken claims he told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the US was 'an irresponsible act and that (China's) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have'. 

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: 'In actuality, the US and China have never announced any visit. The US making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that.'

According to Beijing, Wang said China 'has always strictly followed international law, we do not accept any groundless speculation and hype. Faced with unexpected situations, both parties need to keep calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments and manage differences'.

The Chinese surveillance balloon is estimated to be about the width of three buses. The balloon is fitted with solar panels to power the on-board equipment, which could include long-range cameras and radar. It was traveling at an altitude of around 60,000ft on Friday afternoon, but the balloons can reach heights of around double that

CIA Director William Burns pictured on Thursday at Washington's Georgetown University, where he called China the 'biggest geopolitical challenge' facing the United States

China's foreign ministry said the balloon 'seriously deviated from the scheduled route' and expressed regret that 'the airship strayed into the United States due to force majeure' and claimed it was used for scientific research 'such as meteorology' – something the Pentagon disputed.

The detection of the balloon, which triggered alarm in the White House and the Pentagon, adds to a series of recent controversies that have further strained the tense relationship between China and the United States. 

Beijing had urged calm while it established the 'facts' before a statement yesterday morning said the balloon was a weather research device that had 'deviated far from its planned course'.

The Chinese foreign ministry said it regretted that the balloon had mistakenly entered US airspace. 

Republican leaders and former President Trump had led calls for the balloon to be shot down. 

F-22 fighter jets were mobilized to track the device as it hovered over Montana, which borders Canada, on Wednesday. 

Analysts said the balloon could be fitted with high-tech equipment including cameras, sensors and radar. 

The alleged Chinese spy balloon is pictured over Maracaibo, Venezuela yesterday

A model of the path the balloon caught hovering over the US is thought to have taken, created by meteorologist Dan Satterfield, showed it originated in central China

The Pentagon said the balloon was floating at around 60,000 feet on Friday afternoon

Earlier this week, images posted by the National Weather Service in Kansas City, MO, showed an unidentified balloon flying over the state which is believed to be the Chinese surveillance device. 

A report from the crew of a Cessna Citation private jet on Friday afternoon said they observed a 'derelict balloon adrift' while cruising at 43,000 feet near Kansas City.

They said the balloon was floating at around 50,000 feet, which could cause safety concerns among aviation officials.

Military and defense officials previously said the balloon was floating at around 60,000 feet and doesn't pose a threat to civilians or civil aviation.

The news initially broke as CIA Director William Burns was speaking at an event at Washington's Georgetown University, where he called China the 'biggest geopolitical challenge' facing the United States. 

Elaborating on China's readiness for an invasion of Taiwan, Burns added: 'Now, that does not mean that he's decided to conduct an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it's a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition.

A high-altitude Chinese balloon that was spotted flying over Missouri and sensitive areas of Montana - where nuclear warheads are siloed - yesterday, prompting the military to take actions to prevent it from collecting intelligence

'Our assessment at CIA is that I wouldn't underestimate President Xi's ambitions with regard to Taiwan,' he said, adding that the Chinese leader was likely 'surprised and unsettled' and trying to draw lessons from the 'very poor performance' of the Russian military and its weapons systems in Ukraine.

Russia and China signed a 'no limits' partnership last February shortly before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and their economic links have boomed as Russia's connections with the West have shriveled.

The Russian invasion had fueled concerns in the West of China making a similar move on Taiwan, a democratic island Beijing says is its territory.

China has refrained from condemning Russia's operation against Ukraine, but it has been careful not to provide the sort of direct material support which could provoke Western sanctions like those imposed on Moscow.

'I think it's a mistake to underestimate the mutual commitment to that partnership, but it's not a friendship totally without limits,' Burns said.