The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023.The Commerce Department announced a new round of sanctions Friday targeting six Chinese aerospace companies that it identified as supporting the Chinese military's reconnaissance balloon program.
The sanctions announcement came just hours after an American military F-22 shot down the second "high altitude object" to enter U.S. airspace in the past week. "Today's action makes clear that entities that seek to harm U.S. national security and sovereignty will be cut off from accessing U.S. technologies."
The White House was hesitant to characterize the aircraft involved in the Friday incident as a balloon, saying.