Incredible close-up photo of Chinese spy balloon

The Pentagon has released an extraordinary close-up photo of the Chinese spy balloon, captured from above just one day before the object was shot down.

The Pentagon has released an extraordinary up-close photo of the Chinese spy balloon that sparked international hysteria after being spotted and shot down by the US military earlier this month.

In a freshly released photo taken from the cockpit of a U-2 spy plane, the side of a pilot’s helmet can be seen out of focus, with the spy balloon floating just below the aircraft’s wing.

The startlingly white balloon supports an elaborate network of multiple antennae that US defence experts said were collecting signals intelligence.

The Pentagon has released an extraordinary picture of the Chinese spy balloon. Picture: US Air Force.

The U-2 pilot snapped the shot of the balloon from above just one day before it was shot down by the US Air Force off the South Carolina coast.

It was taken on February 3 as the spy balloon “hovered over the Central Continental United States”, according to the US Defense Department.

The Pentagon released the image on Wednesday, more than two weeks after the balloon was spotted floating over the US mainland.

The spy balloon was hit with a missile shot from an Air Force F-22 Raptor jet fighter and the debris fell into relatively shallow water just 47 feet (14m) deep. It was spread out over at least 11km, according to officials.

BREAKING 🚨: The US has shot down the Chinese Spy Balloon over the Carolina coast pic.twitter.com/tHid39bUcY

— Latest in space 🪐 (@latestinspace) February 4, 2023

The balloon had been flying as high as 65,000 feet (20km) when it was shot from below by the plane, flying at 58,000 feet (18km).

US President Joe Biden said he had ordered the Pentagon on Wednesday to shoot down the balloon “as soon as possible” but the Pentagon decided to wait until it was over the Atlantic Ocean – still in US territorial waters.

Videos of the downing shot from the ground by everyday Americans went viral.

The balloon was shot down off the coast. Picture: Randall Hill

The Chinese spy balloon sparked hysteria in early February, as four mysterious objects were shot out of the sky in just three days.

Even a group of hobby balloon enthusiasts was caught up in the mayhem.

The original balloon was part of a “fleet” of Chinese surveillance balloons that have previously been spotted over Latin America, Europe and Asia, the Pentagon said after it was shot down.

China had claimed it was a weather balloon that had blown off course but US officials said that explanation “lacked any credibility.”

— with AFP.