Politics & Government
Courtney: Shooting Down 'Surveillance' Balloon Was 'Justified'
A very senior member of the House Armed Services Committee from Connecticut offered comments on the suspected Chinese spy balloon.
VERNON, CT — U.S. Rep. and Vernon resident Joe Courtney, as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, termed the large balloon shot down Saturday off the coast of South Carolina as a definite spy balloon and hailed the fighter pilots for a mission well done.
Courtney (CT-02) is the second-most senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
The balloon was shot down by an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base.
Find out what's happening in Vernonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"President Biden's order to take down the PRC surveillance balloon was executed professionally and surgically by Air Force pilots from Northern Command over U.S. 12-mile territorial waters," Courtney said in an email exchange with Patch Tuesday.
He called the balloon "a blatant violation of international law" that "intruded" U.S. airspace.
Find out what's happening in Vernonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"The action was entirely justified," Courtney said. :After our sea services conduct a retrieval of the platform, our forensic experts will go to work so the international community gets the full story of this unacceptable provocation."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
