Chinese Spy Balloon Shot Down By US Had Equipment To Collect Communications

(Photo : JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
The Chinese spy balloon shot down had solar panels to power its sensors and antennas to gather communications signals, according to US authorities' inspection.

The Chinese surveillance balloon shot down near the US coast last week was discovered to possess the technology to capture communications and photos, making the situation even more serious.

After Thursday's Chinese Spy Balloon revelation indicated that it had antennae to capture communications signals and solar panels to power its sensors, US lawmakers urge the Biden administration to take action, per The Hill.

US authorities stated that this was a component of a Chinese spy balloon operation that spanned 40 nations and five continents, per an earlier HNGN report.

The cargo of the 200-foot-tall Chinese spy balloon was the size of a plane, as per a PBS report. A senior State Department official said the Chinese spy balloon was capable of undertaking signals intelligence collection activities.

It contained solar panels big enough to provide enough electricity to run many active intelligence-gathering sensors, and a variety of antennae, one of which was likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications. As it flies above US military outposts, it may pick up transmissions from such facilities.

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US Plans To Take Action Against China

An official from the State Department claimed the Chinese spy balloon was part of a Chinese fleet built to perform "surveillance operations" by a company with ties to China's People's Liberation Army.

The source said the United States is considering taking action against PRC businesses associated with the PLA that sponsored the Chinese spy balloon's entry into US airspace, which has been repeatedly termed a breach of US sovereignty and international law, according to CNN.

An FBI laboratory in Virginia is analyzing debris from the balloon, but officials' comments on Chinese spy balloon revelation imply the US has essentially determined the balloon was using electronic surveillance equipment.