Watch: F-22 makes first air-to-air strike in the takedown of Chinese balloon
The downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon marked the first time an F-22 Raptor fighter jet has downed an aerial target since it made its combat debut in Syria and Iraq nearly a decade ago, defense analysts said.
“The downing of the Chinese balloon was really the first air-to-air shoot down of an F-22,” Rebecca Grant, an Air Force systems specialist and president of IRIS Independent Research, said in an emailed response to questions. “The Americans watched an enemy plane shot down over our skies.”
Defense publication The War Zone said on its website that the incident “may be the largest high-altitude air-to-air shootdown in history”. The F-22 was flying about 58,000 feet off the coast of South Carolina when it fired an Aim-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon, which was hovering between 60,000 and 65,000 feet, Pentagon officials said Saturday.
A jet aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp. it made its combat debut in 2015, nine years after it was considered ready for war. The stealth fighter, known as the Raptor, was primarily used to carry out guided airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq.
The Air Force touted the F-22’s success in these missions as a vindication of the aircraft, which had long been criticized for its cost and the service’s lack of use. The Pentagon spent $67 billion to buy 187 supersonic jets.
The discovery and eventual downing of a Chinese balloon, which China said was a climate research vehicle that had veered off course, has put new strain on US-China relations. The balloon saga comes less than three months after President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume talks in their first face-to-face meeting as leaders in Bali.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III said China was using the balloon “in an effort to monitor strategic locations in the continental United States.” US officials expect to learn more about the balloon’s capabilities from the rescue operation underway off the coast.
