Gallery: New photos released of effort to recover Chinese spy balloon

Sailors operate landing craft air cushions during recovery efforts of a high-altitude balloon in the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 8, 2023. (MCS1 Ryan Seelbach/Navy)

United States Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, has released additional images of the efforts to recover the Chinese balloon that floated across the U.S.

An F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, shot down the balloon off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4, with support from other fighter jets. The Navy, with help from the Coast Guard, spearheaded efforts to gather the remains. Pentagon officials said Wednesday the balloon is part of a large surveillance program China has been conducting for years. China claims it was a civilian balloon used for meteorological research.