US releases photo of Chinese balloon taken from high altitude U-2 spy plane

The pilot of the U-2 spy plane checks out the balloon (Department of Defence via AP)

A U-2 pilot flying high above the Chinese spy balloon took a close-up photo of the large white orb just a day before the Air Force shot it down off the South Carolina coast.

The photo shows the top of the pilot’s helmet inside the U-2 cockpit with the balloon flying below. It was taken February 3 as the balloon “hovered over the Central Continental United States”, according to the caption provided by the Defence Department.