Photos released of Chinese spy balloon recovery off S. Carolina

WASHINGTON — Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable boats, the Navy is conducting a massive operation to collect all the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon shot down by a US fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

In the latest images released by the Navy on Tuesday, sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 can be seen leaning over a rigid-hulled inflatable boat, drawing in wide swaths of the balloon’s white outer fabric and envelope structure.

The head of the US Northern Command, Gen. Glen VanHerck, said Monday the teams took precautions to guard against the possibility that any part of the balloon was rigged with explosives.

The balloon was estimated to be 60 meters high and carried a long sensor package underneath it, which VanHerck said was the size of a small regional jet.

The Navy is also using ships to map and scan the seabed for any remaining bits of the balloon so US analysts can get a full picture of what types of sensors the Chinese were using and better understand how the balloon could be maneuvered.

The balloon debris is scattered in waters that are about 15 meters deep but spread over an area 15 football fields long and 15 football fields wide, VanHerck said.

The balloon’s presence in the skies over the US this week dealt a major blow to already strained US-China relations, which have been on a downward spiral for years. It prompted Foreign Minister Antony Blinken abruptly cancel a high-stakes trip to Beijing aimed at defusing tensions.