A preliminary investigation into the alleged Chinese spy balloon shot down last February after it flew over the United States has revealed surprising results.
It allegedly found that the craft used American-sourced technology combined with Chinese spying equipment, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
Now that the debris from the balloon has been recovered, investigators are revealing details that shed light on the capabilities and the possible purpose of the craft that the Chinese claim was simply a wayward weather research instrument.
Investigators have found that the balloon employed U.S.-made off-the-shelf equipment combined with specialized Chinese sensors and photo collection and transmission technology, reported the WSJ.
Officials said the balloon had a device similar to a satellite dangling from it, as well as a propeller for navigation, per the WSJ.
According to a BBC report, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the balloon was capable of collecting information. Gen. Ryder did not confirm whether this craft used parts sourced from the U.S., but he did say that past Chinese drones have.
President Joe Biden said the balloon was carrying “two boxcars full of spy equipment,” per the WSJ.
The craft did not appear to have sent any information back to China that it may have gathered during the eight days it took the balloon to traverse Alaska, Canada, and the United States, the WSJ reported.
According to the WSJ, military countermeasures were used to prevent the balloon from collecting information.
Though the balloon caused a diplomatic row between Washington and Beijing, the Biden administration has been eager to move past the incident.
Earlier in June, Biden called the happening “more embarrassing than it was intentional,” reported the WSJ.
“That chapter should be closed,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week, per the WSJ.
In the past, the U.S. government has publicly disclosed foreign equipment it had captured or destroyed, as it did with Iranian weapons in 2017. This time, officials are keeping the investigation’s conclusions close to the vest.
However, it has prompted some members of Congress to demand that the administration give a more in-depth account of the episode, including why the craft was permitted to follow such a sensitive flight path, per the WSJ.
“Your administration has yet to provide the American people a full accounting of how this spy platform was allowed to traverse across sovereign U.S. territory, what the balloon carried, and what it collected during its mission,” Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote to Biden earlier in June, reported the WSJ.
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) last week called for the federal government to be more transparent about balloon flights that it tracks. His concern was spurred by a different balloon that was spotted over Montana’s skies, according to a Fox News report. In this case, the FAA said it was a registered balloon following regulations.
Rosendale still encouraged caution and vigilance, saying, “If the spy balloon in February taught us anything, it’s that Montanans are vigilant and want to know what is flying over our state and will expose the Biden administration for not protecting us.”