US Spy Balloon Can Transmit Data Back to Beijing in Real Time, Officials Say
A Chinese spy balloon that passed over the United States earlier this year was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real time, according to a source familiar with the matter. The balloon, which first entered US airspace over Alaska in late January, captured imagery and collected signals intelligence from US military sites before being shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4.
The balloon's ability to transmit data back to China has raised questions about what intelligence it may have gathered that the US is still unaware of. The US government does not know for sure whether the Chinese government was able to wipe the balloon's data as it received it, which could mean that there are gaps in US intelligence on the situation.
Despite this uncertainty, officials say that the intelligence community has not been overly concerned about what the balloon may have gathered because the information it collected is likely similar to what can be gleaned from Chinese satellites orbiting over similar locations. A senior State Department official described the balloon's capabilities as "capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations."
The surveillance program, which includes a number of similar balloons, is run out of China's Hainan province 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 the Chinese government did maintain some ability to maneuver the balloon once it was over Montana and attempt to collect intelligence from sensitive sites. The incident has further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.
As the investigation into the spy balloon continues, officials are assessing the possibility that the balloon's data may contain information on US military operations or other national security matters that have not yet been shared with the public.
A Chinese spy balloon that passed over the United States earlier this year was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real time, according to a source familiar with the matter. The balloon, which first entered US airspace over Alaska in late January, captured imagery and collected signals intelligence from US military sites before being shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4.
The balloon's ability to transmit data back to China has raised questions about what intelligence it may have gathered that the US is still unaware of. The US government does not know for sure whether the Chinese government was able to wipe the balloon's data as it received it, which could mean that there are gaps in US intelligence on the situation.
Despite this uncertainty, officials say that the intelligence community has not been overly concerned about what the balloon may have gathered because the information it collected is likely similar to what can be gleaned from Chinese satellites orbiting over similar locations. A senior State Department official described the balloon's capabilities as "capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations."
The surveillance program, which includes a number of similar balloons, is run out of China's Hainan province 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 the Chinese government did maintain some ability to maneuver the balloon once it was over Montana and attempt to collect intelligence from sensitive sites. The incident has further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.
As the investigation into the spy balloon continues, officials are assessing the possibility that the balloon's data may contain information on US military operations or other national security matters that have not yet been shared with the public.
just thinking about this is giving me chills - a spy balloon literally flying over our country and collecting intel like it's nobody's business... 
what if there's something we're still in the dark about? Like, were they monitoring specific military sites or gathering data on our economic activities? 
it's wild to think that these balloons are basically like high-tech eyes in the sky, watching us and reporting back to China. 
and now that we know the balloon was transmitting data in real-time, it's like a whole new level of concern... 
I'm all for being vigilant about national security, but this just feels like another layer of complexity to navigate 
. and now we know for sure that it was transmitting data back to beijing in real time 
... and what if they wiped the data as soon as they got it? who knows what intel is out there waiting to be uncovered 
. btw, has anyone considered that this whole thing might've been a distraction from something else? you know, like a real crisis or something? 
just speculating here...
. And now we're left wondering if there are gaps in our intelligence? Not cool, China 
. We need some real answers here, not just spin 
.
. What kind of sensitive info is still missing from our database? Are we talking classified military ops or something more sinister? 
.
. If China was able to transmit data back to Beijing in real time, that's some serious espionage stuff 
.
), but it's def worth keeping an eye on what other intel the Chinese might have gotten from this balloon. And now that Blinken is canceling his trip, things are just gonna get more... interesting 
.