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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

Cost to US military of shooting down 3 mystery flying objects after Chinese ‘spy balloon’ row could top US$2 million

  • US Air Force says the four Sidewinder missiles used to down the still unidentified objects cost up to US$500,000 apiece but have not disclosed the other costs
  • The three objects were downed last month, days after the alleged spy balloon was shot down over the Atlantic, an incident China said was an overreaction

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The balloon that triggered the row was shot down off the US Atlantic coast early in February. Photo: AFP
Jack Lau
The United States military may have spent over US$2 million shooting down three unidentified flying objects last month in the wake of the row over an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
The three objects were downed over Alaska, Michigan and the Canadian province of Yukon, days after the shooting down of the Chinese balloon off the Atlantic coast by an F-22 fighter on February 4.

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told The Detroit News that the four missiles used in the later operations alone cost between US$400,000 to US$500,000 each – but that price tag did not account for the support provided by other warplanes and operations to recover the debris.

The row over the first balloon heightened tensions between China and the US after Beijing accused the US of overreacting by shooting it down with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile in an operation that involved several warplanes and branches of the military.

The Chinese balloon entered US airspace over Alaska on January 28, then moved over Canada and the contiguous United States, crossing over sensitive military sites, Pentagon officials said. The incident prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned visit to China.

China said the balloon was designed for meteorological research and had strayed off course into American airspace because of strong winds and limited ability to self-steer. It also said it reserved the right to respond further after it was shot down, but did not specify what action it may take.

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