A U.S. Air Force pilot looked down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the Central Continental United States on Feb. 3. The pair was flying over Bellflower, Mo.
Department of Defense
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Department of Defense
A U.S. Air Force pilot looked down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the Central Continental United States on Feb. 3. The pair was flying over Bellflower, Mo.
Department of Defense
It’s arguably the greatest selfie ever taken. A pilot aboard the Air Force’s legendary U-2 spy plane is looking down at China’s alleged spy balloon as it hovers somewhere over the United States.
The photo, taken on Feb. 3 and released by the Department of Defense on Wednesday, has reportedly reached legendary status inside the Pentagon.
But where, exactly, was it taken?
In a world with very few secrets, it’s actually possible to answer that question.
The balloon and the U-2 spy plane were just south of the tiny city of Bellflower, Mo., population 325, according to the U.S. Census.
Bellflower is just visible in the lower left hand corner of the image.
It’s clearly identifiable from its distinctive reservoir and a nearby agricultural supply business just north of town. pic.twitter.com/628a9x3ITD
— Geoff Brumfiel (@gbrumfiel) February 23, 2023
In an email to NPR, the Pentagon declined to confirm the location of the selfie, saying only that it was taken “over the central continental United States.”
So, if you’re curious, how does one go about locating a supposed spy balloon?
It’s actually not an impossible task, and I laid out my process in a Twitter thread earlier today (Another Twitter user reached the same conclusion several hours earlier).
For starters, you can look up roughly where the balloon was on the date the military said the photo was taken, Feb.
