US Military Sites Targeted by Chinese Spy Balloon in Real-Time, But How Much Did it Learn?
A US spy balloon that flew over the country earlier this year was able to capture images and collect signals intelligence from key military sites while transmitting information back to Beijing in real-time. The incident has raised questions about how much information the balloon may have gathered that the US is still unaware of.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the balloon, which crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January, was able to conduct signals intelligence collection operations as it floated across the country. However, the extent of its capabilities remains unclear, and the US government has yet to determine whether Chinese authorities deleted the data from the balloon's systems.
The incident highlights the ongoing concern about China's use of surveillance balloons, which have been spotted over several continents in recent years. The US has developed a method of tracking these balloons, controlled by the Chinese military, but it appears that Beijing was able to maintain some level of control over its operations.
Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and NORAD, said earlier this year that while the balloon presented no significant collection hazard beyond existing capabilities, his comments have been disputed by experts. "The surveillance program is in part run out of the small Chinese province of Hainan," officials told CNN. The program has conducted at least two dozen missions over five continents since 2019.
In total, roughly half a dozen flights of these balloons have entered US airspace, although not necessarily over US territory, according to one official familiar with the intelligence. China has maintained that its balloon was simply a weather balloon thrown off course, but US officials believe it may have been deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by Beijing.
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. The US government has not commented on whether any sensitive information gathered by the balloon remains unknown to them.
A US spy balloon that flew over the country earlier this year was able to capture images and collect signals intelligence from key military sites while transmitting information back to Beijing in real-time. The incident has raised questions about how much information the balloon may have gathered that the US is still unaware of.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the balloon, which crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January, was able to conduct signals intelligence collection operations as it floated across the country. However, the extent of its capabilities remains unclear, and the US government has yet to determine whether Chinese authorities deleted the data from the balloon's systems.
The incident highlights the ongoing concern about China's use of surveillance balloons, which have been spotted over several continents in recent years. The US has developed a method of tracking these balloons, controlled by the Chinese military, but it appears that Beijing was able to maintain some level of control over its operations.
Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and NORAD, said earlier this year that while the balloon presented no significant collection hazard beyond existing capabilities, his comments have been disputed by experts. "The surveillance program is in part run out of the small Chinese province of Hainan," officials told CNN. The program has conducted at least two dozen missions over five continents since 2019.
In total, roughly half a dozen flights of these balloons have entered US airspace, although not necessarily over US territory, according to one official familiar with the intelligence. China has maintained that its balloon was simply a weather balloon thrown off course, but US officials believe it may have been deliberately maneuvered into the continental US by Beijing.
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. The US government has not commented on whether any sensitive information gathered by the balloon remains unknown to them.
and it just got personal with that spy balloon incident. can't believe they're still getting away with it, all thanks to hainan province 
being their secret lair. us military sites? really? what did we miss out on? was there any intel on those new us china trade talks? btw, shouldn't be a surprise that china's been doing this for years and we just now are catching wind of it...
China's spy balloons are like cosmic bullsh*t! They're basically just flying around, taking pics & signals, and then China deletes all the evidence 
. We'll never know what we missed, and that's not cool 
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The US has been tracking these balloons for years, but apparently, Beijing was able to stay one step ahead 
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. The fact that China can just delete their data and leave us wondering what we might've missed is pretty unsettling. And with how many flights these balloons have made into our airspace already? It's like they're trying to get under our skin 
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. We need to take a step back and think about how we're going to protect ourselves from these kinds of threats in the future 
But seriously, how much do we really know about what the US didn't discover from those signals? 
The fact that China might have deleted the data from their systems is just mind-blowing. It's like they're always one step ahead of our spy agencies. 
And can you imagine if other countries were doing this too? 
It raises some serious concerns about global surveillance and the state of international relations. 
We need to stay vigilant and make sure we're not getting blindsided by advanced tech like this in the future! 
. But at the same time, I don't know if it's even possible for a weather balloon to be so high-tech 
... Like, how did it even manage to stay aloft with all those sensors and stuff on board? And what about China's whole "it was just a weather balloon" excuse? Are they really that clueless 
? But then again, maybe the US is overestimating its own capabilities or something 
So yeah, it's all super murky, and I'm just gonna sit here and stew about it until more info comes out 
! how much info did they collect?! we'll never know lol. us gov can't even confirm if they deleted the data or not... so suspicious 
. and let's not forget, china's been doing this for years now, what's stopping them from getting more sneaky? 
this whole thing just reeks of espionage 101 
. we need to know more about these balloons and their capabilities, stat! 
This is getting outta control! Chinese spy balloons just keep popping up and we got no idea how much intel they're bringin' back 2 Beijing. I mean, what kinda game are they playin'? 
We got our military on high alert but those balloons just seem 2 be flyin' right under our noses. And now they're sayin' it's not like they're collectin' everything 
. Just keep tryin' 2 stay one step ahead of the bad guys, I guess 
.
seriously though, we gotta be on top of this kind of thing. cybersecurity is key 
especially when it comes to national security 
i mean if china deleted the data from their systems that's just making things worse for them, right? 
i wonder how many other "weather balloons" have been flying around our country without us even knowing it 