FBI to analyze Chinese spy balloon remains

The Defense Department has not confirmed that the recovery mission is complete.

Published: February 6, 2023 1:08pm

Updated: February 6, 2023 3:12pm

An FBI processing lab in Quantico, Virginia, is reportedly going to analyze the remains of the Chinese spy balloon shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.

The remains are "heading" to the FBI lab, senior government sources told Fox News on Monday.

The Defense Department has not confirmed that the recovery mission is complete after the balloon was shot down Saturday, but the agency said the recovery should be "fairly easy" given the depth of the water that it fell into.

The U.S. military is collaborating with the FBI and counterintelligence officials to assist in "categorizing and assessing the platform itself," a senior defense official said at a briefing Saturday about the spy balloon.

The official also said the Defense Department is "working closely with the FBI on the chain of custody" of the balloon as it is being recovered.

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