US spy pilot takes 'selfie' with China balloon before it was shot down

The U.S. Department of Defense released a previously classified “selfie” Wednesday, taken from the cockpit of a U-2 intelligence plane.

Behind the pilot can be seen the now-infamous Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the U.S. military off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month.

The image, first reported by CNN, clearly shows the balloon’s “payload,” which is related to the transport of data. General Glen VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the balloon was 200 feet tall.