A Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing while it was over the US, according to a source familiar with the matter. The balloon, which was spotted in Alaska and then flew across Canada before heading into Montana, was able to capture images and collect signals intelligence from several US military sites.
The US government does not know for sure whether the Chinese government wiped the data as it received it, raising questions about what other information the balloon may have been able to gather that the US is still unaware of. However, analysts do not believe that the intelligence gathered by the balloon was particularly significant, given its relatively simple capabilities compared to more advanced Chinese satellites.
The US has tracked a number of similar surveillance balloons in recent years, and it's believed that the program operating these balloons is largely run out of China's Hainan province. At least two dozen missions have been conducted over five continents since 2019, with roughly half a dozen flights occurring within US airspace.
China claims that the balloon was just a weather balloon thrown off course, while the US has assessed that it was deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the Chinese government. However, officials do believe that China maintained some ability to control the balloon once it was over Montana, and that it loitered over sensitive sites in an attempt to collect intelligence.
The incident has further strained relations between Washington and Beijing, with a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed as a result. The US has also shot down one of its own surveillance balloons off the East Coast, which is believed to be part of a similar program operating in the region.
The US government does not know for sure whether the Chinese government wiped the data as it received it, raising questions about what other information the balloon may have been able to gather that the US is still unaware of. However, analysts do not believe that the intelligence gathered by the balloon was particularly significant, given its relatively simple capabilities compared to more advanced Chinese satellites.
The US has tracked a number of similar surveillance balloons in recent years, and it's believed that the program operating these balloons is largely run out of China's Hainan province. At least two dozen missions have been conducted over five continents since 2019, with roughly half a dozen flights occurring within US airspace.
China claims that the balloon was just a weather balloon thrown off course, while the US has assessed that it was deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by the Chinese government. However, officials do believe that China maintained some ability to control the balloon once it was over Montana, and that it loitered over sensitive sites in an attempt to collect intelligence.
The incident has further strained relations between Washington and Beijing, with a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed as a result. The US has also shot down one of its own surveillance balloons off the East Coast, which is believed to be part of a similar program operating in the region.
! i mean idk about anyone thinkin this is just some legit weather balloon that got lost 
. we all know how chinese gov works, they're always tryin to get the upper hand in espionage and intel gatherin'...like, who hasn't seen those pics of them super advanced satellites? 
. it's crazy thinkin our military sites were transmittin info back to beijing without even knowin 
...like, come on china 
.
. diplomatic visits get cancelled, balloons get shot down...we should be chillin over some ice cream 
instead of beefin 
I gotta say, this whole Chinese spy balloon thing is getting old 
. Like, we've been tracking these things for years and still can't get a clear answer on what's really going on 
. And now China's just spewing out whatever it wants to keep us guessing 
? Come on, Beijing! If you're gonna do something shady, at least have the decency to own up to it 
. I'm not saying this was a massive intelligence coup or anything 
? It's like they're just trolling us at this point 
. And don't even get me started on the whole "weather balloon" cover story 
... please 
.
. The fact that they think the Chinese government controlled the balloon once it got to Montana is super suspicious 
. We know there are lots of surveillance balloons floating around, and we've even shot down our own ones in the past! 
. But let's not jump to conclusions just yet... 
.
.
so they're saying it was transmitting info back to beijing while it was over the us? that's some major security breach stuff 
like what if china wiped all the data as soon as they got it? and what else did it gather that we don't know about yet? 
.
Can't let these sneaky countries get away with it without us knowing what's happening 
I mean, what's up with these countries and their spy games? Like, we're already living in a world where drones and satellites are doing all this surveillance stuff, but at least we know it's happening, you know? 
It's like, China is trying to be sneaky, but we still found out about the balloon. And what's even crazier is that they might've wiped the data as they received it... like, what do they have to hide? 
At least the US has been pretty clear about what they think happened, but I guess that doesn't change the fact that we're all still a bit vulnerable.
We can't just sit back and wait for them to make another move... or can we? 
That's just so frustrating.
. Either way, I think we should all be keeping an eye on this situation and seeing how it plays out 
. It's definitely going to get interesting 
.