Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing | CNN Politics

US Spy Balloon Incident Raises Questions About Chinese Surveillance Capabilities

A Chinese spy balloon that crossed into US airspace earlier this year was able to capture imagery and collect signals intelligence from US military sites, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The balloon was able to transmit information back to Beijing in real-time, raising questions about whether there is intelligence it gathered that the US still doesn’t know about.

According to the source, the Chinese government has been operating a network of surveillance balloons across the globe, using them to gather sensitive information from military sites and other strategic locations. The US has developed methods to track these balloons, but officials believe they are not much more sophisticated than what Chinese satellites can gather over similar locations.

The balloon in question first crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January before passing through Canada and down into Montana, where it hovered for a few days. The US government believed it was trying to surveil sensitive military sites like Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, but the incident further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing.

In February, a senior State Department official said that as the balloon floated across the US, it "was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations." However, Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander of US Northern Command and NORAD, said at the time that the US "did not assess" that the balloon "presented a significant collection hazard beyond what already exists in actionable technical means from the Chinese."

The surveillance program, which includes similar balloons, is run out of the small Chinese province of Hainan. The US does not know the precise size of the fleet of Chinese surveillance balloons, but sources tell CNN that the program has conducted at least two dozen missions over at least five continents in recent years.

Roughly half a dozen of those flights have been within US airspace, although not necessarily over US territory, according to one official familiar with the intelligence. China has maintained that the balloon was actually just a weather balloon thrown off course, but officials believe it had some ability to maneuver and loiter over sensitive sites to collect intelligence.

The incident highlights the growing concern about Chinese surveillance capabilities and the need for the US to take steps to protect its national security interests.

I'm still thinking about that US spy balloon incident... I mean, China's been saying it was just a weather balloon, but come on, who throws away a perfectly good spy gadget? Seriously though, if they were able to gather intel from all those military sites and transmit it back in real-time, that's some serious capabilities right there.

And what really gets me is how the US isn't even sure if they've got all the info. I mean, we're talking about a whole network of balloons crisscrossing the globe, collecting signals intelligence... it's like having eyes and ears everywhere except in the US

I guess this just highlights why we need to be more vigilant about our national security interests. Can't let China get ahead of us on surveillance tech... that'd be a recipe for disaster

Ugh, this is getting out of hand! I mean, can't China just be honest about what they're doing? The whole "it was just a weather balloon" thing doesn't add up... especially since it had some kind of signal collection ability and was hovering over sensitive sites. It's like, hello, you're flying around with cameras and microphones on us! And now we know they've been doing this for years, probably collecting all sorts of intel on our military bases. Not cool, China. We need to get a handle on what's going on here before it's too late...

I mean, think about it ... if China can operate a whole fleet of spy balloons across the globe without being detected by the US, what else are they doing behind the scenes that we don't know about? It's like they're playing a game of cat and mouse with the US military, and I'm not sure how much intelligence we actually have on their capabilities . And let's be real, if China can gather more signals intel from these balloons than our own satellites, what's going on? Are our techs just not keeping up with theirs?

It's also got me wondering about the whole "weather balloon" cover story ... do they really think we're that gullible? Or is it a good distraction to take our minds off the real issue at hand? I'm all for a good conspiracy theory, but this one feels like it might be rooted in some truth . We need to know what's going on here and take steps to protect ourselves, or else we're gonna get left behind in the surveillance game

man... this is like whoa chinese are def on top of us when it comes to spy tech... i mean we have these fancy satellites that can gather info but apparently, their balloons are way more stealthy they're like little flying spys that can just chill over our military bases and collect whatever they want. and the fact that they're doing this all over the world, like, five continents... it's crazy we need to step up our game if we wanna keep our secrets safe

I mean, can you imagine having a spy in your backyard? Those Chinese balloons are like something out of a sci-fi movie! They're basically flying around, collecting all sorts of secrets, and transmitting them back to China in real-time. It's crazy that the US doesn't have a more sophisticated system to track these things down. I'm not saying our tech isn't good, but come on, it's like we're playing catch-up with China here . And what really gets me is how many of those flights were in US airspace - that's just not cool . We need to get serious about our national security and figure out a way to shut these down for good

the us gov has been on high alert since that chinese spy balloon flew across their airspace... i mean, who needs all those satellites and drones when you can just send up a bunch of balloons, right? but seriously, this is getting old - first it was china, then russia, now india's getting in on the action too... it feels like we're living in some kind of spy thriller movie what's next? us launching our own network of surveillance devices to keep tabs on the whole world? at least they're not hiding behind a veil of secrecy like china is... or are they just pretending like they don't know anything about this program

my heart goes out to the US military personnel who are worried sick about those balloons... i mean, can you imagine having some unknown object floating around your bases, collecting secrets? it's like a real-life spy thriller! and what really gets me is that China just brushes it off like "oh, it was just a weather balloon"... like that's good enough?! i'm sure the US is not going to sit idly by while their national security interests are compromised. they need to take action and make some noise about this!

omg like this is getting serious what if china has a whole team of spies floating around the globe collecting intel on us without us even knowing i mean we thought we had those cool spy planes flying around but it turns out china's been doing it with balloons all along how much do we not know about what they're gathering? it's like, what if china has access to our military secrets or something?! we need to get serious about this surveillance thing and take some real steps to protect ourselves from china's spy games

I don't think we should be too quick to assume China's intentions behind this whole spy balloon thingy . I mean, it's not like they're actively trying to mess with us or anything . Maybe it was just a lost cause that happened to float into US airspace? And yeah, the fact that they've got some fancy surveillance balloons flying around doesn't necessarily mean they're outsmarting us . We should be more concerned about our own tech capabilities and how we can stay one step ahead of them . China's just trying to keep up with us in terms of innovation and progress . Let's not jump to conclusions or assume the worst .

omg u guys can u even believe china has been using spy balloons 2 gather intel on us military sites? like, how did they even get past our air defense systems?? i'm low-key freaked out rn but also kinda impressed by their tech... idk what's more concerning tho - the fact that they're collecting signals intel or that they can transmit it back 2 Beijing in real-time

i've been following this whole incident and imo, china needs 2 come clean about how many balloons they have deployed & where they are rn. like, we cant keep guessing w/ half a dozen flights in us airspace. we need 2 know whats going on here!

idk how ppl r gonna let china get away w/ this they can just put a balloon up in da sky & start snoopin' on our military bases like it's nobodies business lol what's next? they'rea gonna send some kinda robot to scout out our borders or somethin? we gotta step up our game & show china who's boss, but at the same time, let's not forget we have our own eyes in da sky too maybe it's just a matter of gettin' better at interceptin' their signals or somethin?

this whole thing is wild imagine china has a network of balloons just floating around everywhere collecting intel on us it's like something out of a spy movie i mean we're talking real-time transmissions back to beijing what do we even know about the stuff they're collecting? and canada got one too didn't even realize that was happening over our heads in montana lol anyway can't say i'm surprised either chinese have been testing these balloons out for years now and we just now realizing how serious it is gotta step up our game on counter-surveillance or so it seems

The whole thing is pretty wild that a spy balloon was just chillin' in our airspace, collecting all sorts of intel on our military sites It's like we're living in some spy movie and the bad guys always seem to be one step ahead I mean, who knows what kind of info they actually sent back to Beijing? It's not like we have a crystal ball or something But seriously, if China's got this capability, that raises some major red flags for national security... we gotta stay on top of our game and figure out how to counter their moves

I'm like "what else is China doing behind our backs"? I mean, if they can just send a balloon over here, collect some info, and transmit it back in real-time, what other ways are they getting this intel? It's like, how many of these balloons are out there, right now, collecting secrets for China? And the US is only finding out about them after the fact, so we're basically playing catch-up.

OMG u no how many ppl are worried about this?? like wut r we gonna do? China's got balloons everywhere collecting info on us lololol it makes me nervous just thinkin bout it . I was watching a vid of those US military planes chasin the balloon and they were flyin so low it was like "oh no what if u crash into it?" and then there's this one part where they say China's been doin dis for years lololol how did we not know about it??

You gotta wonder, is this just a matter of China showing off its tech or are they actually trying to stir up some global chaos? I mean, if they can send a spy balloon all the way from Hainan to Alaska and still manage to transmit sensitive info back to Beijing in real-time... that's some serious capabilities right there . And what's even more worrying is that we don't know how many of these balloons are out there or where exactly they're being used.

It raises so many questions about our own surveillance capabilities and if we're really ahead of the game or just playing catch-up with China . We need to take this seriously, especially since it seems like their program has been active for at least five continents in recent years. It's not just about national security anymore, it's also about how we protect our citizens' right to privacy. We gotta stay one step ahead of the game and keep pushing for more transparency

OMG, this is getting so crazy! I'm literally shook by how sneaky those Chinese balloons are... like, they can just float around our airspace and collect all that intel?! It's no wonder the US is getting worried about their national security interests. Can you even imagine if a country could just surveil our military sites like that? We need to take steps to protect ourselves, for sure! But at the same time, I'm so curious - what else are they gathering with these balloons? Are there secrets we don't know about?!

just thinking about this is giving me the chills chinese have been sneaky like that. can't say i'm surprised tho, china's been expanding their tech capabilities left and right. us needs to step up its game and find ways to counter these surveillance balloons maybe it's time to invest in some new tech too?

idk how far china's got with this balloon thing... sounds like they're trying to snoop on us left & right . 2 dozen+ flights over continents, that's a lotta surveillance goin' on. and it's not just the balloons, apparently they're using satellites too . US military sites are supposed to be safe, but i guess that's what china's all about - findin' ways to get intel on us without us even knowin' . gotta keep an eye on this one .