Report: Chinese Spy Balloon Collected Intelligence from Sensitive Military Sites, Sent Back to China in Real-Time

[Ubiquitous]

The Chinese spy balloon that traversed across the continental U.S. before
President Joe Biden had it shot down collected intelligence from sensitive
military sites, at times doing figure eight formations to hover over certain
sites according to a report.

The balloon gathered intelligence from “several” military sites, despite the
Biden administration insisting that measures were taken to prevent that from
happening, NBC News reported Monday, citing two current senior U.S. officials
and one former senior administration official.

According to the report, China was able to control the balloon so it could
make multiple passes over some of the sites, including flying figure eight
formations, and transmitting intelligence back to China in real time.

That intelligence was mostly electronic signals from weapons systems or
communications from base personnel, the officials told NBC News.

“I Think They’re Compromised” — Rep. Tim Burchett on Biden Admin’s China
Balloon Debacle

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News
The balloon first entered U.S. airspace over the Aleutian island chain in
Alaska on January 28, and allegedly entered Canada before reentering the U.S.
over Idaho on January 31 and flying over Malmstrom Air Force Base, home to
U.S. nuclear assets.

The balloon first entered U.S. airspace over Alaska on Jan. 28, according to
the Biden administration, which said it was tracking it as it moved. Within
the next four days, the balloon was flying over Montana — specifically
Malmstrom Air Force Base, where the U.S. stores nuclear assets.

The balloon was not shot down until February 4 — after it had made a several
day journey across the states and potentially over other sensitive military
sites and exited over South Carolina to the Atlantic Ocean.

President Joe Biden claimed he ordered it shot down on February 1, but that
military officials recommended said the risk from potential debris was too
high.

However, Bloomberg reported on February 4 that the Biden administration had
hoped to hide its existence from the public so as not to ruin Secretary of
State Antony Blinken’s planned trip to Beijing.

Former President Donald Trump is calling for the Chinese spy balloon
floating over the United States to be shot down.
https://t.co/RRCNLNn4qe

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 3, 2023

The current and former officials told NBC News China could have gathered
“much more intelligence” if the Biden administration did not “move around
potential targets” and obscure the balloon’s ability to pick up their
electronic signals by stopping them from broadcasting or emitting signals.

The balloon had a self-destruct mechanism, but officials are unsure why it
was not used.

China claimed the balloon had gone astray. Once it was made public, the
balloon reportedly sped up in an attempt to get out of U.S. airspace,
according to the report.

A February Convention of States Project/Trafalgar Group poll showed that the
majority of respondents thought the Biden administration mishandled the
incident, at 63.4 percent. Only 36.6 percent said the Biden administration
handled it “appropriately,” as Breitbart News reported.

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Let's go Brandon!