A pilot of a U-2 plane flying above the Chinese spy balloon on February 3 snapped a close-up photo of the large white orb just a day before the Air Force shot it down off the coast of South Carolina. .
The photo shows the top of the pilot's helmet inside the cockpit of the U-2 with the balloon flying below. It was taken on February 3 as the balloon was "flying over the central continental United States," according to the caption provided by the Department of Defense. The Pentagon released the image on Wednesday, more than two weeks after the balloon made international headlines as it transited through the United States.
The balloon was shot down on February 4 by an F-22 fighter that fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. The attack occurred when the balloon was no longer over land, but within the territorial waters of the United States.
The U-2 Dragon Lady is an American high-altitude spy plane that has been in service since the 1950s.
The Pentagon announced last Friday that Navy ships and submersibles had completed the recovery of the huge balloon and its payload, which fell to pieces in the Atlantic Ocean. The payload was recovered from the ocean floor and is being analyzed by the FBI, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday.
The shootdown led to three other smaller objects also being shot down by Air Force aircraft in a period of eight days: one over Alaska, one over Canada and one over Lake Huron. The search for the Alaska and Lake Huron artifacts is over.
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