THE United States plans to bring salvaged wreckage from the shot down Chinese surveillance balloon to labs for further research.
President Joe Biden ordered the balloon to be shot down after it completed its journey across the country yesterday, sparking fury from China and some Americans.
The surveillance aircraft was dramatically shot down by two F-22 fighter jets off of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina yesterday afternoon.
Crowds were seen cheering after the balloon plummeted into the ocean, where its wreckage is being gathered by divers and other military personnel.
And footage shared by South Carolina photographer @casual_photoholic shows the moment the balloon was blasted by the missile.
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China has slammed the government's decision to shoot down what it calls a "civilian aircraft", further raising tensions between the two countries.
It said in a statement: "The attack on Chinese civilian unmanned airship by force is an obvious overreaction.
"We express solemn protest against this move by the US side, and reserve rights to take necessary measures in dealing with similar situations."
This comes after a top US general warned that the US and China may enter a bloody war by 2025.
Retired US Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis said: “I see hotheads in Beijing, and I see hotheads in the Pentagon and the various commands, and I worry about it a lot.
"My gut tells me we will fight in 2025."
The remains of the balloon are expected to be taken to a FBI research lab in Virginia, sources told CNN, where the wreckage will be studied.
A senior defense official said the FBI and other counterintelligence authorities will work together to "categorize and assess the platform".
The balloon's remnants could give America a leg up on Chinese defense threats, experts say.
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John Ferrari from the American Enterprise Institute said the balloon may have been sent to find holes in the country's air defense warning systems.
Specialist in surveillance balloons William Kim said that the high tech balloon most likely was guided by artificial intelligence.
Upwards of ten known FBI locations are in Virginia, mainly focused in Fairfax and Quantico.
It's unclear what location the aircraft's remnants will be sent to.
China also said the balloon did not pose a threat to the US in any way.
They continued: "The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the US side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure, which was completely accidental."
The balloon is the first foreign aircraft shot down over American air space since World War II.
The last instance was in 1942, when a Japanese fighter jet was shot down as it tried to attack US Navy ships in Alaska, in an instance known as Akutan Zero.
It's also the first instance of a F-22 jet performing an "air to air kill", after firing the missile that took down the surveillance balloon.
Former Secretary of State for former President Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, told Sean Hannity the balloon would have been shot down earlier if Trump was still in office.
He said: “I can nearly guarantee you that that balloon would not still be flying if we were still there."
A department of defense official claimed that upwards of 3 Chinese spy balloons flew over the continental United States during Trump's presidency, sparking fierce debate online.
Many on Twitter have said shooting the balloon down earlier would have killed many Americans on the ground.
Bloomberg said: “One top national security official from the administration of former President Donald Trump said none of the Chinese spy balloons were near sensitive sites or had payloads as large as this one appears to carry."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his diplomatic visit to China in response to the balloon entering US air space.
