Suspected Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing

US Spy Balloon's Data Transmitted Back to Beijing in Real Time, Officials Say

A US spy balloon that flew over the country earlier this year was able to capture imagery and collect signals intelligence from US military sites. The balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real time, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The balloon first crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January before passing through Canada and down into Montana, where it hovered for a few days. The US government believed at the time that the balloon was trying to surveil sensitive military sites, such as Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

However, officials have since learned that the balloon was able to capture imagery and collect signals intelligence from these sites. It is unclear how much information the balloon actually gathered, however, as it is not known whether China was able to wipe the data as it received it.

The US government has been aware of a surveillance program run by China that includes balloons like the one that flew over the country. The program is believed to be based in the small Chinese province of Hainan and has conducted at least two dozen missions over five continents in recent years.

Roughly half a dozen of these flights have been within US airspace, although not necessarily over US territory. China has maintained that the balloon was actually just a weather balloon thrown off course, but officials believe that China did maintain some ability to maneuver the balloon.

The incident further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China. The US government is still assessing the possibility that the balloon was deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the Chinese government.

OMG you guys I am literally SHOOK about this!!! Like what even is going on with these spy balloons?? They're like, basically flying around our country collecting secrets from top-secret military sites without anyone knowing and China just casually waves it off like "oh yeah we threw this weather balloon off course" like no one believes that.

And the fact that they could transmit data back to Beijing in real time is just wild I mean what's the point of even having a spy program if you can't keep your cards close to your chest? And now it's like we're living in some spy thriller movie where everything is a cat and mouse game between our government and China.

And don't even get me started on Blinken's diplomatic visit being postponed I mean what's next? Are they gonna cancel the whole relationship with China or just keep it on hold until we figure out who's behind all these sneaky spy missions?

omg can you believe this ? so china's been using these spy balloons to gather info on us and it's not even a new thing they've been doing it for years and we're just now finding out about it? i mean i get it, intel is intel but still it's pretty shady how did we not know about this program until now? seems like our gov needs to step up its game on counter-surveillance

omg u guys can u even believe what just happened?!?! so china has these spy balloons flying around everywhere like they're just casually collecting secrets from us military sites and transmitting them back to beijing in real time... it's insane! and we thought our own NSA was doing some shady stuff, turns out the chinese are on a whole other level i mean what even is the point of having borders if china can just send balloons over here whenever they feel like it?!?! and now tensions between us and china are at an all time high... this is getting good we need to be more aware of our surroundings and stuff, idk if anyone even knows how many chinese spy balloons are flying around the world right now

this is getting crazy... like, who needs that much surveillance in our skies? a spy balloon just cruising around collecting signals intel from our military sites? what's next, drones monitoring our backyard? and now they're saying it was transmitting data back to Beijing in real-time?! that's some serious level of intrusion... the fact that China is doing this on repeat, like, twice a month, five continents over... it's like they're trying to keep tabs on us 24/7 and our gov just shrugs it off? at least we know where the problem lies now... Hainan province, China... that's some bad vibes right there

omg this is getting crazy so china's been using these spy balloons to surveil us military sites and collect intel in real time?! like, what's next? they're basically flying around above our heads collecting secrets and we have no idea what's going on and btw how do we even know if china wiped the data as it received it is it just gonna be one of those 'we can't confirm' situations where we all just pretend like nothing happened

OMG, this is like something out of a spy thriller movie ! Like, who knew China had such sneaky surveillance programs? I'm not surprised though, all countries need to stay one step ahead in terms of national security. But still, it's major league weird that they could transmit data back to Beijing in real-time . I mean, what if the Chinese government was able to intercept sensitive military info? That would be a major game-changer . And can you believe Antony Blinken had to postpone his visit because of this?! Diplomacy is all about give-and-take, but this is on another level . I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on the situation and see what happens next .

just another example of how vulnerable our airspace is... can't even trust ourselves no less, not knowing if they've got an eye on us all the time... guess it's time to step up security measures, but where do you start?

This whole thing is kinda wild... like I know we've always been paranoid about China's surveillance capabilities but wow, it sounds like they were actually monitoring us while our own spy balloons were over them... It's crazy how one balloon could give that kind of intel back to Beijing in real time. And what's up with the Chinese government denying it was even a spy balloon when we've got evidence of it being controlled remotely? It just feels like we're caught in this game of espionage and neither side is showing any restraint...

Ugh, this is getting crazy ! I mean, can't even fly a harmless weather balloon without it being used for espionage . I'm not surprised though, China's been playing dirty with their surveillance programs for ages . And what's up with all these flights over US airspace? It's like they're trying to test the waters or something . Anyway, hope our government can get to the bottom of this and take some action . Don't want to see us getting played like that . By the way, have you guys ever used those apps that block tracking cookies on your phone? Like, totally useful for online security .

omg you guys I'm literally shaking just thinking about how close we came to having our airspace compromised like who needs that kind of stress in their life? and can we talk for a second about how China's got this whole surveillance program up and running with no one really knowing what's going on? it's like they're flying under the radar and collecting all this intel while we're just trying to keep up seriously though, what are the chances that the balloon was actually just a weather balloon thrown off course, or is China just too sneaky for us to know? anyway, I'm low-key scared now

I don't trust these new-fangled spy balloons . If Beijing can just transmit data back to them in real-time, what's stopping them from hacking into our systems too? And let's not forget, we're supposed to believe China is just telling the truth about it being a weather balloon that got lost . It sounds like they're covering their tracks to me. I mean, come on, 5 continents and over 20 missions already? That's some serious surveillance game going on . And now, Antony Blinken can't even visit China without all this drama breaking out... what's next?

This development is quite telling, don't you think? I mean, the fact that this US spy balloon was able to transmit data back to Beijing in real-time suggests a level of sophistication and coordination between China's surveillance program and their military apparatus. It's not entirely surprising, given our knowledge of China's extensive investments in espionage operations around the world .

It's also worth noting that while we don't know exactly how much information was gathered by this balloon, it's likely that China had access to sensitive intel about US military sites and operations. This raises concerns about the potential for Chinese authorities to use this information to their advantage, particularly in terms of diplomatic relations between the two countries .

Of course, one must also consider the broader implications of such a program. If China is indeed conducting surveillance operations over US territory, it challenges our assumptions about the nature of international relations and the limits of national security measures .

OMG, like can you even imagine how chill China thought it was flying a spy balloon over the States without anyone noticing? I mean, I get it, they're trying to gather intel, but come on! We have satellites and radar for that stuff. And now they're all like "oh, it was just a weather balloon"... lol what a cop-out . The US government should totally be investigating this more, like how much did China actually get from the balloon? Was it some crazy top-secret military info or just a bunch of random spy talk?

I'm telling you, this whole thing with the spy balloon is soooo not surprising . I mean, come on, China's been running a surveillance program with balloons for years and we're just now finding out? It's like, basic espionage 101 .

And don't even get me started on the whole "weather balloon" excuse they gave for the US Secretary of State's cancelled trip . Like, please, we've all seen that one before - "it was just a coincidence" or "we didn't know it was there"... give me a break .

So yeah, I'm not surprised that the data from the balloon is being transmitted back to Beijing in real-time . It's about time someone showed China what's good (or bad) at espionage . We should've taken this stuff seriously years ago .

Wow , this is crazy! China has been trying to be sneaky with their balloons for years and they finally got caught red-handed . I'm surprised it took them so long to realize they got caught, maybe they were just messing around with the US airspace? Anyway, now that the cat's out of the bag, what's next? The US needs to take action, like grounding their own surveillance program or something, but at the same time, you can't blame China for trying to get some intel. It's all about spying and counter-spying games... interesting

idk how much i trust china's explanation about that weather balloon lol. like, if it was really just a normal weather balloon, then why did the chinese gov supposedly have control over its trajectory in the first place? also, what's up with this whole 'they wiped the data' thing? sounds like something from a spy movie .

so like i'm not sure what's more surprising here... that china had this spy balloon flying over us without us knowing or that it was actually able to transmit data back in real time lol idk if we should be like super mad at china for doing this or just acknowledge that it happened and move on i mean we've been doing some pretty shady stuff ourselves with our own spy programs so maybe we shouldn't throw stones right? anyway, this whole thing does kinda make you wonder how much our governments are sharing info about each other's spy operations...

I mean come on, who lets a spy balloon just float around our airspace? We're basically just letting China get a free pass to snoop around our military bases. And now we know they've been doing it for years, like it's some kind of routine thing. This is getting out of hand. I'm not saying we need to go nuclear or anything (although that's definitely an option), but can't we just take a stand and make China stop this nonsense? And what's up with the weather balloon cover story? That's like trying to pass off a snake in a suit as just a harmless rodent. We need some serious action here, like expelling all their diplomats or something. This is a major security breach and it's time someone took responsibility for it.

omg this is so crazy like what if they had hacked into our military sites already i mean china has been doing surveillance programs for years and it makes total sense now that they've got a balloon collecting all that info they could use it to blackmail us or something anyway its no wonder tensions are high between the two countries now we cant even trust what we think we know about each other's motives i wish they would just tell us the truth lol