LONDON – North & South Carolina airspace closes as the U.S. armed forces prepare to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon.
This balloon has been flying through U.S. airspace for the last few days, with President Joe Biden stating that he is going to “take care” of this.
As per RadarBox.com, LUCKY62 is in the air and is providing surveillance on the balloon’s whereabouts, enabling coordination with fighter pilots to shoot the balloon down.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the following in a statement:
“The FAA has paused departures from and arrivals to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR), and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort.”
This is a developing story. More to follow.
UPDATE #1 @ 1933 UK time – A live stream feed of the 2nd balloon is currently in session. Potential footage on the way of the balloon being shot down?
UPDATE #2 @ 1937 UK time – Photos are beginning to emerge in a close-up perspective of the Chinese Balloon.
UPDATE #3 @ 1940 UK time – The U.S. Armed forces have just shot down the Chinese spy balloon, as per footage from Fox News.
UPDATE #4 @ 1945 UK time – Fox News reports that the Pentagon advised against the shooting down of the balloon initially. Understood the government will collect remnants of the balloon.
UPDATE #5 @ 1946 UK time – FAA extends the ground stop until 3:30 pm ET. Operations expected to restart in 45 minutes as it stands.
UPDATE #6 @ 1951 UK time – Courtesy of FOX News, here is the moment that the Chinese spy balloon was shot down, with the contrails of the fighter jet flying past it being visible.
UPDATE #7 @ 1956 UK time – FAA ground stop has been extended to 5:15 pm EST, as time is needed to recover the destroyed Chinese spy balloon.
UPDATE #8 @ 2000 UK time – FRANK01 & 02 were the F22s responsible for shooting down the Chinese spy balloon. See above for why the callsign is relevant to history.
UPDATE #9 @ 2007 UK time – Another look at the Chinese spy balloon being shot down by FRANK01 and 02. Shows distinctly the missile coming from the F-22.
UPDATE #10 @ 2015 UK time – Flights out of Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston are now resuming, concluding our coverage.
