Selfie image shows US pilot flying over Chinese 'spy balloon'

The US Department of Defense has released an representation taken by a combatant aviator arsenic helium flew implicit the Chinese balloon changeable down earlier this month.

The selfie was taken from the cockpit of a U-2 spy level arsenic subject leaders tracked the high-altitude balloon's advancement implicit the continental US.

Beijing has maintained that the balloon was a upwind vessel blown disconnected course.

But Washington says the balloon was portion of a sprawling Chinese quality postulation programme.

As the balloon flew implicit US territory, astatine slightest 2 planes gathered accusation connected its features and trajectory.

A elder State Department authoritative said earlier this period that fly-bys revealed it "was susceptible of conducting signals quality postulation operations".

Officials archetypal became alert of the balloon erstwhile it crossed into Alaskan airspace connected 28 January.

Fighter jets belonging to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) - a associated cognition betwixt the US and Canada - identified the overseas object, but the subject did not sprout it down astatine the time.

Officials explained they could not sprout the balloon down implicit onshore due to the fact that its size and apt debris tract posed a menace to civilians connected the ground.

One defence authoritative told US lawmakers earlier this period the balloon was arsenic gangly arsenic the Statue of Liberty and had "a jetliner-size payload".

The representation released connected Wednesday was taken the time earlier the craft was changeable down disconnected the seashore of South Carolina connected 4 February. It has reportedly "gained legendary status" wrong the Pentagon.

The balloon was said to beryllium hovering astatine 60,000 feet (18,200m) successful the air. U-2 spy planes routinely alert astatine altitudes implicit 70,000 feet, according to the Air Force.

The single-seater reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, nicknamed the Dragon Lady, were antecedently flown by the CIA. Pilots are required to deterioration afloat unit suits akin to those worn by astronauts.

Recovery efforts for the balloon's scattered remnants successful the Atlantic Ocean ended past Friday.

Pieces of the debris, including its payload, person been recovered and are being studied, the Pentagon's lawman property caput Sabrina Singh said.