The US has terminated the search for the remains of the downed balloon and concluded that China was using it for espionage

UNITED STATES completed its efforts to recover the remains of the large balloon that was shot down off South Carolinaand their analysis so far reinforces the conclusions that it was a chinese spy balloon, US officials assured this Friday.

Officials said the United States believed that personnel from the The Navy, Coast Guard, and FBI recovered all of the balloon’s remains from the ocean floor.. U.S. Northern Command said in a statement that recovery operations were completed Thursday and the final pieces are on their way to the fbi lab to Virginia for analysis. Additionally, air and sea restrictions off South Carolina have been lifted.

The announcement marked the end of a dramatic three weeks in which US warplanes shot down four aerial objects – the large Chinese balloon and three much smaller objects over Canada, Alaska and Lake Huron – the first known peacetime downings of unauthorized objects in US airspace.

Officials also said the search for the small aerial object that was shot down over Lake Huron has stalled and nothing has been recovered. US officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the military operations.

News in development.