US pilot's selfie with Chinese spy balloon in American air space before it was shot down is released by the Pentagon

A STUNNING photo has been released from inside the cockpit of a Lockheed U-2 flying above the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the Pentagon earlier this month.

The image shows the large white-colored balloon with a payload attached to it hovering over the United States.

The surveillance balloon was taken out over the Atlantic near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on February 4, after it entered U.S. airspace on January 28.

A U.S. fighter jet assigned to the U.S. Northern Command successfully shot down the high-altitude object, the Pentagon confirmed.

A single AIM-9X air-to-air missile fired from an F22 fighter jet that flew out of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia shot down the balloon, a senior defense official told POLITICO.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said at the time that the balloon was "used by the PRC [People's Republic of China] in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States."

U.S. officials were reportedly also able to block the airship from gathering intel, per CNN.

The spy balloon - described as the length of three buses - entered Alaskan airspace on January 28, Pentagon officials said.

The high-altitude object was then spotted over Billings, Montana, where residents on the ground reported it to local officials.

The Pentagon said the balloon had flown over areas in Montana containing sensitive airbases and nuclear missiles in underground silos.

Montana is home to the Malmstrom Air Force Base, which houses one of the three nuclear missile fields in the U.S. It is home to 150 ICBM silos.

The spy balloon later drifted from Idaho southeast to the Carolinas before being shot down in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of South Carolina.

The object, which was first reported by NBC News, had the ability to maneuver and was operating at an altitude of about 60,000 feet.

The recovered remains were taken to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, where it is being decontaminated by removing saltwater.

China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" against the object being shot down after claiming the balloon "used for meteorological purposes" accidentally entered American airspace due to strong winds.

A statement from the country’s foreign ministry added that Washington was ”overreacting” and “seriously violating international practice.”

"China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protest against the U.S.'s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft," the statement read.

"The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the U.S. side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the U.S. due to force majeure - it was completely an accident."

'WE WILL COMPETE'

President Joe Biden, who gave the green light to shoot down the balloon, issued no apologies for his actions during his speech to the American public on Thursday.

Biden addressed raddled Americans after the U.S. blasted out at least three UFOs that invaded U.S. airspace amid the Chinese spy balloon scandal.

The U.S. president said there is no evidence the three aerial objects downed recently in Alaska, Canada, and over Lake Huron were related to China spying, adding they were likely tied to private organizations.

"I want to be clear - we don't have any evidence that there's been a sudden increase in the number of objects in the sky," Biden said from the White House.

"We're now just seeing more of them partially because of the steps we've taken to increase our radars."

The surveillance balloon has escalated an already rocky relationship between the U.S. and China.

President Biden said that the U.S. will continue to engage with China, adding that the country is "not looking for another Cold War."

"Make no mistake, if any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the American people, I will take it down," Biden said.

"We're not looking for a new Cold War, but I make no apologies.

"I make no apologies and we will compete and will we responsibly manage that competition so that it doesn't veer into conflict," the president added.

He added that he expects to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon regarding the surveillance balloon issue.