A Chinese surveillance balloon has been shot down on the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina. On February 4th, 2023, an F-22 shot the balloon after entering US airspace a week earlier. According to the President Joe Biden himself, ordered the take down of the balloon when it first appeared in Alaskan airspace, but was denied from his advisors. On January 28th, It first entered Alaskan airspace and floated into Canadian airspace before re-entering US Airspace on February 2nd. Once the balloon made its way to the North Carolina Coast, President Biden was cleared to give the go-ahead on shooting the balloon. The FBI and US Navy are working together to find debris in the Atlantic Ocean. It has found plenty of debris, but are still searching for more.

National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby commented on this situation he had this to say, “The U.S. shouldn’t be surprised by China’s response to the Biden administration shooting down their spy balloon, We shouldn’t be surprised about the Chinese rhetoric coming out of this and the bluster they are known to put out in the information space after a discussion like this.”