USNS PATHFINDER

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Survey ship mapping out crash site of downed Chinese spy balloon

On Feb 6 at around 10 a.m. underwater drones carrying side-scan sonar arrays were deployed to create a detailed imagery of the Chinese spy balloon shot down over the Atlantic. The USS 'Pathfinder' worked to map out the sea-bottom topography with its high-powered sonar equipment. The USS 'Carter Hall (LSD-50)', the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group (EODGRU) 2 and an unidentified tug were also working off the coast of Myrtle Beach. Additionally, the guided-missile destroyer USS 'Oscar Austin (DDG-79)' and the guided-missile cruiser USS 'Philippine Sea (CG-58)' were operating in the vicinity of the crash site. Both ships are equipped with the powerful AN/SPY-1 air search radar. The Coast Guard has dispatched the USCGC 'Venturous (WMEC-625)', USCGC 'Richard Snyder (WPC-1127)' and USCGC 'Nathan B. Bruckenthal (WPC-1128)' to assist in the search and recovery. The Navy is preparing an additional contracted, commercial offshore support vessel at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., and to assist in the recovery effort. The OSV 'HOS Rosebud' was moored at the JEB Little Creek-Fort Story as of Jan 6. The U.S. military embarked on an underwater mission to collect remnants of the downed balloon to find clues on how the Chinese government was carrying out a years-long surveillance operation. The high-altitude spy balloons briefly flew over the continental U.S. at least three times over the past six years, but went undetected until the most recent one entered American airspace last week. The Pentagon hopes that new information about China’s surveillance practices will be collected from the operation to salvage the balloon that an Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter was downed with an AIM-9X Sidewinder anti-air missile from 58,000 feet at about 62,000 feet above U.S. territorial waters off the Carolina coast. The military has collected the majority of the debris floating on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Navy search teams were now concentrating on an area under the water for bits of the surveillance apparatus that hung under the balloon. The debris field is scattered in less than 50 feet of water, but weather conditions prevented undersea collection until the morning of Feb 6. The inflated balloon alone was assessed to be 200 feet tall, with a payload underneath it omparable in size to a regional jet. The recovery is complicated by the potential presence of hazardous materials in the balloon, such as materials required for batteries or possible explosives. The FBI is assisting in the salvage operation under counterintelligence authorities. The recovery efforts will aim to sort out whether China had surveillance capability aboard the balloon beyond what the U.S. ascertained while observing its four-day flight over the country. Reports with photo and video: https://time.com/6253414/chinese-balloon-recovery-clues/ https://www.aol.com/f1-news-live-alfa-romeo-094148209.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL3Vi5zoJXrmQO4VM8hCf6SVpzIp_1PG71T3A-vOWATcYAPQ-mXTr4CniB3S1cuvlhSmKWBP3XaHWR62PsLPYX_8rCvdFlLgJEeLnObGJ77QevKHnldljda-ayPkK_hmw-ifcPUWrtajJWiXYTxBSbsN3tvBlXoAfG8weKWI_Nhs