A Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real-time, a source familiar with the matter has revealed. The US military first detected the high-altitude balloon over Alaska in late January, and it later floated through Canada before entering Montana, where it hovered for several days.
As the balloon drifted over the US, it collected imagery and some signals intelligence from sensitive military sites, including Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. However, the US government remains unsure if the Chinese government could have wiped the data as it received it, raising questions about whether there is any new intelligence that was not previously known.
Despite this uncertainty, experts say that the information gathered by the balloon is likely to be of limited value to China, as it is not significantly more sophisticated than what Chinese satellites can already gather over similar locations. The US has developed a method to track Chinese balloons operating across the globe, and officials have stated that they are better equipped to detect these types of surveillance operations.
The balloon was eventually shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4, leading to further escalation in tensions between Washington and Beijing. The incident also led to the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.
China has maintained that the balloon was not deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the government, but officials believe that they did have some ability to control it once it was over Montana. The Chinese surveillance program, which includes balloons like this one, is believed to be operated out of the small province of Hainan, and the US estimates that the program has conducted at least two dozen missions over five continents in recent years.
The US intelligence community remains focused on understanding the full extent of what China was able to gather from the balloon, but officials say that they are confident that they can detect similar surveillance operations in the future.
As the balloon drifted over the US, it collected imagery and some signals intelligence from sensitive military sites, including Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. However, the US government remains unsure if the Chinese government could have wiped the data as it received it, raising questions about whether there is any new intelligence that was not previously known.
Despite this uncertainty, experts say that the information gathered by the balloon is likely to be of limited value to China, as it is not significantly more sophisticated than what Chinese satellites can already gather over similar locations. The US has developed a method to track Chinese balloons operating across the globe, and officials have stated that they are better equipped to detect these types of surveillance operations.
The balloon was eventually shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4, leading to further escalation in tensions between Washington and Beijing. The incident also led to the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.
China has maintained that the balloon was not deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the government, but officials believe that they did have some ability to control it once it was over Montana. The Chinese surveillance program, which includes balloons like this one, is believed to be operated out of the small province of Hainan, and the US estimates that the program has conducted at least two dozen missions over five continents in recent years.
The US intelligence community remains focused on understanding the full extent of what China was able to gather from the balloon, but officials say that they are confident that they can detect similar surveillance operations in the future.
anyway im just worried about what kinda sensitive info was collected by those balloons and if china can even wipe it out now that the balloon's gone I hope the us has a solid system in place to prevent more of these kinds of ops in the future 
I'm literally shaking thinking about this... how far are we willing to let China push us? They're basically flying spy balloons over our country and collecting sensitive info like it's nothing?! 
And what really gets me is that the US government is still unsure if the data was wiped or not... are we just going to sit back and let China get away with it? 
Not to mention, Blinken had to cancel his trip to China because of this... that's a major diplomatic blow. 
I think the US needs to step up its game here, we can't keep letting our adversaries push us around like this. 
. And now we're wondering if China could've wiped the data as it received it... what even is that? 
It's like they're playing some kind of surveillance game up there, and I don't think it's right 
.
. Can't we just talk things out instead of escalating tensions? 
It's not like this is the first time China's done something suspicious... have they been doing this for years or what? 
. It's like, can't we just get some closure here? 
. And now we're all worried about whether the US government can trust the info they got from the balloon or if China wiped their memory like a magic trick 
The whole thing just seems like a big diplomatic fuss over nothing 
.
and yeah, i get why us gov is unsure if china wiped the data or not 
since chinese satellites can already do that 
plus, the US has this cool method to track chinese balloons now 
anyhoo, it's all pretty intense rn 
️. And let's be real, China's been doing surveillance stuff for years, so what's the new intel here exactly? 
. Blinken postpones his visit and suddenly the whole world is on edge 