A Chinese spy balloon was able to send information back to Beijing in real-time, according to a source familiar with the matter. The balloon, which crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January, collected imagery and signals intelligence from US military sites, including sensitive areas like Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.
Despite being shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4, the incident has raised concerns about whether there is new intelligence that the balloon gathered that the US still doesn't know about. The US government remains unsure if the Chinese government wiped the data as it received it.
The balloons are part of a surveillance program run out of the small Chinese province of Hainan, officials told CNN. At least two dozen missions have been conducted over at least five continents in recent years, with roughly half a dozen flights within US airspace.
China maintains that the balloon was actually just a weather balloon thrown off course, but officials believe China did maintain some ability to maneuver the balloon once it entered continental US airspace. The incident has escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.
The US intelligence community does not consider the information gathered from this balloon to be critical new insights for China, according to a US intelligence official. However, they do acknowledge that the balloon was able to gather some valuable signals intelligence.
Despite being shot down by the US off the East Coast on February 4, the incident has raised concerns about whether there is new intelligence that the balloon gathered that the US still doesn't know about. The US government remains unsure if the Chinese government wiped the data as it received it.
The balloons are part of a surveillance program run out of the small Chinese province of Hainan, officials told CNN. At least two dozen missions have been conducted over at least five continents in recent years, with roughly half a dozen flights within US airspace.
China maintains that the balloon was actually just a weather balloon thrown off course, but officials believe China did maintain some ability to maneuver the balloon once it entered continental US airspace. The incident has escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing, including the postponement of a diplomatic visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China.
The US intelligence community does not consider the information gathered from this balloon to be critical new insights for China, according to a US intelligence official. However, they do acknowledge that the balloon was able to gather some valuable signals intelligence.
This whole situation with the Chinese spy balloon is getting pretty weird 
. I mean, think about it - a weather balloon just happens to be carrying high-tech spy gear and can transmit info in real-time? It sounds like something out of a spy novel 
.
. I'd love to know what exactly the balloon was collecting - is it just random chatter or are they getting some serious intel?
. That's just a recipe for disaster.
. Is it just because China's been denying everything? The US intelligence community says it's not critical new insights, but still - how many times can we trust China to be honest with us about their surveillance programs?
and I'm not sure which side is winning. One thing's for sure though: this incident has definitely escalated tensions between the US and China 
.
us thinks we shot it down before it could transmit anything new... but what if there's already a pipeline goin on behind the scenes? 
. Like, can you believe it? They were just chillin' in Alaska and collecting all sorts of intel on our military sites 
I mean, I guess it's a good thing they shot it down before it could send any more info to China 
.
, but hey, who knows? Maybe China is telling the truth this time 
. Either way, this has got everyone on edge and I'm just over here like "dude, can we talk about something else?" 
. But seriously, it's a big deal. It's not just about the balloon itself, it's about what that means for our national security and all that jazz 
.
. The Cold War was a thing, but I don't think we've had a situation like this in ages 
. So yeah, I'm keeping an eye on this one 
. You can see everything around you, but what if someone else had those same binoculars? They could be watching you from miles away, taking notes and sending back info to HQ 
. It was like a super advanced camera drone 
, collecting all sorts of sensitive info about US military sites 
. And even though it got shot down, we're still wondering if they wiped their memory cards 
.
. We need to be more careful about who's flying overhead and what kind of surveillance tech we allow into the country 
. Maybe it's time for us to upgrade our own spy game 
This whole thing is super sketchy 
. And what if the data got wiped out as soon as they received it? 
We're still seeing some pretty bad intel from China, but is this stuff really that valuable? 
The whole thing feels like a big game of cat and mouse between espionage agencies. Can't say I'm surprised by the US not taking it too seriously though - after all, you can't just freak out over every little thing 
. Still, it's weird that China's being so cagey about this...are they hiding something? 
It's crazy thinking about how much sensitive info they could've collected from Malmstrom Air Force Base and other US sites. And now the US is all like "did China wipe the data?" 
, and the next it's snooping on our military bases 
The diplomatic visit got postponed because of this? That's some serious stress for both sides 
. Like, can't we talk about it? It seems like our military is pretty chill about just letting a spy balloon float around and collecting sensitive info without doing much of anything about it 
. And don't even get me started on the weather balloon cover story 
- I mean, come on, you've got to admit that's just a weak attempt at plausible denial. 
I mean, how does one even track down where a weather balloon has gone wrong, but suddenly starts gathering super sensitive info from our military bases?! 
but honestly, i think we need to step up our game when it comes to protecting our national security. we can't just sit back and let our enemies get away with this. 
the us government needs to do some serious damage control here...
. This just makes me wanna know more about what's going on behind those closed doors 
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It's time for some real answers from our government, 'cause this ain't no joke. We need to be askin' ourselves if we're ready for a global game of espionage with countries like China. The USA needs to take action ASAP... and I'm not just talkin' about shootin' down more balloons! 
. Now, I'm not saying China did anything wrong, but you've got to wonder if they wiped all that info before sending it back to Beijing 
it's like they're playing cat and mouse here, but who really knows? 
. like, if i'm a spy, i'd wanna know where my targets are too 
. and yeah, maybe they did wipe the data as they got it, but what if they didn't? 
. so maybe we should just chill and move on 
. btw, did u see that Antony Blinken's diplomatic visit got postponed? 
guess that's one way to show your displeasure 