US shared clues after downing Chinese balloon

Two months after the US shot down a giant Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, a top American military official on Monday said that the United States Air Force (USAF) shared some details of the incident, including how the airship was brought down and the tactical challenges involved, with several air forces, including the Indian Air Force (IAF).

- Rahul Singh

The comments were made by General Kenneth S Wilsbach, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, who flagged concerns about China violating the sovereignty of other nations a concern that India has repeatedly raised on global forums.

"Certainly, we have had some dialogue on it (the balloon incident)," said General Wilsbach, who is also the air component commander of the US Indo-Pacific command.

He said that two US B-1 supersonic heavy bombers were set to take part in an air exercise in India for the first time.

"We have had conversations on this with most of the air chiefs in the region. These weren't public comments, but rather talks behind closed doors.

We discussed the situation that occurred with us with the airship that crossed Alaska, Canada and the US, and how we went about dealing with it," he said.

The US believes that the Chinese balloon was spying on its military sites.

He said the US was happy to share with friendly air forces the lessons learnt from the incident, how the USAF shot the airship down, and the tactical challenges involved as it was flying very high and not moving that fast.