China touted ability to shoot down errant balloons in 2019


Business owner "Annie" holding up a copy of the Chinese Daily News newspaper showcasing pictures of a suspected Chinese spy balloon, in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles. - AP

BEIJING (Bloomberg): China boasted about its ability to shoot down spy balloons that strayed into its airspace back in 2019, more than three years before saying the US "overreacted” by destroying one of its vehicles.

A documentary shown on state television that is part of a series called National Defense Stories shows fighter pilots apparently practicing shooting down a balloon that could "endanger security of air defense.” In the video, a pilot presses a red button on his control stick, sending a missile into flight.

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