9 February 2023
The Chinese balloon that traveled across the United States last week before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean had both antennas to collect communications and solar panels to power its sensors, according to multiple reports on Thursday.
News outlets reported that a State Department official said the balloon could collect communications signals and was part of a widespread operation from the Chinese military to conduct spying on more than 40 countries across five continents.
“We know these balloons are all part of a [People’s Republic of China] fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations,” the official told The Washington Post.
The official said that high-resolution images that U.S. U-2 spy planes gathered while the balloon was still in the air showed it had intelligence capabilities much beyond what a weather balloon could conduct.
China has admitted that it owns the balloon but claims it was designed to conduct meteorological research, an assertion the U.S. has rejected.
The official said the multiple antennas that the balloon had were “likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications.”
The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment.
CNN, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal also reported the development.
Outlets reported that an official said the solar panels were large enough to produce the power necessary to operate multiple intelligence collection sensors.
They said the U.S. is contacting the countries that have been the targets of the surveillance operations to inform them of China’s activities.
A top spokesperson for the Pentagon previously confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that the balloon was part of a larger surveillance operation that Beijing runs and that the U.S. knew of at least four Chinese balloons that had flown over some part of U.S. territory in the past.
CNN and the Times reported that the State Department said the U.S. is “confident” that the company that made the balloon has direct ties to the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military.
China has criticized the U.S. for its response to the balloon, saying that it is “irresponsible” and a demonstration of “information warfare” against Beijing.
The U.S. reportedly took action to limit the capabilities of the balloon while it was in the air before shooting it down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, stopping it from collecting U.S. communications.