A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media.Chase Doak via ReutersThe U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been transiting across the country for several days.In a statement Saturday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said a U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the balloon at the direction of President Joe Biden. Lloyd said the balloon was being used by the People’s Republic of China “in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”Biden gave authorization on Wednesday to take down the balloon as soon as it could be done “without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path,” Lloyd said.”In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense develop …
