The U.S. used the U-2 Dragon Lady to investigate the Chinese balloon," a U.S. defense official told The War Zone.
The U-2 is an American high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft developed during the Cold War. It was actively used for reconnaissance flights over the USSR, the Warsaw Pact countries and Cuba in the late 1950s - early 1960s.
At least two U-2s helped keep tabs on the balloon while it was over the Midwest, using planes with call signs Dragon 01 and Dragon 99. One of them occasionally kept in touch with the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Air Defense Sector (EADS).
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