US spy balloon was equipped with technology that allowed it to capture imagery and intercept signals intelligence from US military sites.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the Chinese spy balloon that entered US airspace earlier this year was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real time. The US government still does not know for sure whether China could wipe the data as it received it, which raises questions about whether there is intelligence the balloon gathered that the US doesn't yet know.
The balloon's ability to transmit data back to Beijing has been downplayed by US officials, who argue that the information it was able to gather is not significantly more advanced than what Chinese satellites can already collect. However, the incident highlights concerns about China's increasing use of surveillance balloons and the need for the US to develop effective countermeasures.
The balloon was first detected over Alaska in late January and was eventually shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4. Its flight path took it through Canada before entering Montana, where it hovered for several days.
US officials had initially believed that the balloon was trying to surveil sensitive military sites like Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. However, China has maintained that the balloon was just a weather balloon that strayed off course.
Despite this, US officials believe that China did have some ability to maneuver the balloon and take advantage of its position to loiter over sensitive sites and collect intelligence. The incident has further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing.
In recent years, the Chinese military has conducted at least two dozen surveillance missions using balloons, with roughly half a dozen of those flights taking place within US airspace. However, it's unclear how much information these balloons are able to gather, as China maintains that its operations are purely for meteorological purposes.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the Chinese spy balloon that entered US airspace earlier this year was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real time. The US government still does not know for sure whether China could wipe the data as it received it, which raises questions about whether there is intelligence the balloon gathered that the US doesn't yet know.
The balloon's ability to transmit data back to Beijing has been downplayed by US officials, who argue that the information it was able to gather is not significantly more advanced than what Chinese satellites can already collect. However, the incident highlights concerns about China's increasing use of surveillance balloons and the need for the US to develop effective countermeasures.
The balloon was first detected over Alaska in late January and was eventually shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4. Its flight path took it through Canada before entering Montana, where it hovered for several days.
US officials had initially believed that the balloon was trying to surveil sensitive military sites like Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. However, China has maintained that the balloon was just a weather balloon that strayed off course.
Despite this, US officials believe that China did have some ability to maneuver the balloon and take advantage of its position to loiter over sensitive sites and collect intelligence. The incident has further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing.
In recent years, the Chinese military has conducted at least two dozen surveillance missions using balloons, with roughly half a dozen of those flights taking place within US airspace. However, it's unclear how much information these balloons are able to gather, as China maintains that its operations are purely for meteorological purposes.
like isn't this just crazy?! I mean the fact that the Chinese spy balloon was literally transmitting info back to Beijing in real time is wild 
and it's making me super curious if they could have actually wiped the data as they received it? 
like wouldn't that be a major intel gathering win for them? 
It's obvious they were trying to gather intel on our military sites, especially with that fancy tech it had. And now we know China can transmit data back to Beijing in real-time, which means we're missing out on some crucial info that could've helped us prepare for whatever China was planning. This whole thing is just a mess... 
and what if they wiped the data before it even reached beijing? 
that would be so sketchy 
... and what was the point of shooting down the balloon in the first place? 
couldnt we just have a conversation with china about it? 
...
. I mean, come on, a country can't just say they're using balloons for weather purposes and then everyone knows it's just a cover-up? 
It's like, how many times do we need to see these things before someone calls BS? And what's with the "we don't know" about whether China wiped the data as they received it? 
It's like they're playing some kind of game with us, pretending to be harmless while secretly gathering intel. Not cool, China 
.
and we're still flying around like chickens with our heads cut off 
We already know China's been doing this stuff for years, and now they've got some pretty serious tech too... 
.
... the us government needs to step up its game and develop some serious countermeasures against these chinese balloons 
... we can't just sit around waiting for them to do something, we need to take proactive steps to protect our national security 
so apparently it was equipped with tech that could capture imagery and intercept signals intel from us military sites 
because come on, china has been doing surveillance missions with balloons for years and now we're just finding out about them 
We all know what's going on here: China's just getting more and more brazen with their surveillance ops 
. The US needs to step up its game and figure out a way to counter these balloon-based espionage ops before we're stuck in some kind of surveillance nightmare 
just think about all the times we think its just a random balloon in the sky 
but nope 
its actually a spy balloon 
collecting our secrets 
... it's like, what's the point of having top secret sites if you can't even trust that you're not being watched 
... where the us is always trying to catch up with china's countermeasures 