‘Priority sensors’ retrieved by U.S. salvage crews…


Sailors prepare material recovered in the Atlantic Ocean from a high-altitude balloon Friday for transport. The U.S. military says it has succeeded in recovering “significant debris” from a Chinese balloon that was shot down off of the South Carolina coast.

Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy photo


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Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy photo


Sailors prepare material recovered in the Atlantic Ocean from a high-altitude balloon Friday for transport. The U.S. military says it has succeeded in recovering “significant debris” from a Chinese balloon that was shot down off of the South Carolina coast.

Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Seelbach/U.S. Navy photo

Crews using salvage equipment successfully have retrieved important elements of the Chinese balloon that was shot down off the South Carolina coast 10 days ago, the U.S. military says.

“Crews have been able to recover significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified as well as large sections of the structure,” U.S. Northern Command said.

The recovery operation has included the use of a crane to bring up large pieces of the airship, which was kept aloft by a balloon estimated to be up to 200 feet tall.

The payload’s size has been categorized by Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD, as “a jet airliner type of size, maybe…