Air Force’s F-22 Raptor Claims 1st Air-to-Air ‘Kill’ Over

Coastal Waters
by Alexandra White
February 4, 2023

The United States Air Force safely and successfully shot down a Chinese spy balloon today with
a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. “The balloon, which was
being used by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the
continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters," according to
Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III in a written statement.

The high-altitude Chinese spy balloon transited the continental United States beginning on
February 1, before President Joe Biden ordered the elimination action. The order was executed
by an Air Force F-22 Raptor from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. In a
statement provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, two F-22s utilizing the callsigns Frank01
and Frank02 conducted loitering operations around the balloon prior to one of the Raptors firing
one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon, successfully scoring a direct hit and striking it
down over the waters of South Carolina. Airspace was closed by the Federal Aviation
Administration prior to this operation, no one was hurt. Additional balloons and Unidentified
Aerial Phenomena (UAP’s) are being tracked and will be handled accordingly.

According to Department of Defense (DoD) analysts, the downing of China’s spy balloon marks
the first time an F-22 Raptor brought down an enemy airborne target since debuting in combat
almost a decade ago.

The Lockheed Martin jet made its combat debut in 2015, almost a decade after being deemed
warfare ready. The Raptor was used primarily for guided air strikes in Syria and Iraq but has
long been criticized for its cost and the service’s failure to use the 187 supersonic jets with a
price tag of over $67 billion.

Balloon recovery efforts remain a top priority for the Department of Defense. The United States
Navy and Coast Guard divers along with unmanned underwater vehicles continue recovering
debris from the ocean floor.

For more information on the DoD mission and response, please contact Public Affairs Officer,
Alexandra White at the information below or visit https://defense.gov for more official DoD
statements.

Alexandra White – Alexandra.M.White@emailaddress.gov or white320@purdue.edu