The Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after transiting the United States was launched by the People’s Liberation Army, an intelligence source told Soldier of Fortune. The balloon belonged to an airship fleet with a base in Hainan province on the southern coast of China, the source confirmed. The …

First images have emerged of efforts to recover the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down in the waters off Myrtle Beach, SC. The Pentagon released these images by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tyler Thompson, depicting sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2. The recovery operation involves active duty, …

The U.S. did not take out the Chinese spy balloon as it approached Alaska because it showed no “hostile intent,” the NORAD commander said, noting that his organization did not detect previous balloons because of “a domain awareness gap.”  Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the top general in charge …

Navy divers and FBI counterspy agents are at sea off the coast of South Carolina, hunting for debris from a downed Chinese spy balloon. The search is being carried out from three Navy ships, including the USS Carter Hall, which can launch small amphibious crafts from its internal Landing Ship …

Pilots of the F-22 Raptors that shot down the Chinese spy balloon may have taken their callsigns from a famous World War I flying ace. The modern pilots, whose fighter jets on Saturday took off from Langley Air Force base in Virginia, used the callsigns ‘FRANK01’ and ‘FRANK02,’ in honor …

The U.S. Air Force shot down a Chinese spy balloon Saturday afternoon over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said. The balloon’s sensor package appeared to have separated from the balloon intact, and is the subject of an intense recovery effort, sources told Soldier of Fortune. Earlier in the day, the Federal …

The U.S. on Wednesday prepared F-22 fighter jets, and imposed a 50-mile radius ground stop on air traffic in Montana, among other responses to a Chinese spy balloon above the western United States, sources told Soldier of Fortune. The ground stop occurred one day before the Pentagon convened a hasty …

Now that China’s spy balloon got busted flying over the United States, Beijing acknowledges that yes, it’s their balloon, but it’s not what everything thinks it is. The airship is really a weather balloon that blew off course, Beijing says. Media outlets on Thursday night broke the news that NORAD, …

A Chinese spy balloon has been flying at high altitudes above the continental United States, Pentagon officials said on Thursday. “The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in …

Note from publisher Susan Katz Keating: Today marks the third installment of the new Advisory Committee here at Soldier of Fortune. The members are people I trust and admire, and who I have known over the years. I think of them as SOF’s very own Magnificent Seven. They all are veterans …