Chinese spy balloon: The US State Department on Thursday said that the Chinese spy balloon shot down by the US military over the Atlantic Ocean was capable of collecting communications signals.
The State Department said it was part of a fleet of surveillance balloons directed by the Chinese military that had flown over more than 40 countries across continents.
US forces shot down the Chinese spy balloon on Saturday when it was hovering off the coast of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean.
US agencies said that the balloon had passed over continental America for several days after it entered US airspace on January 30 in Montana.
"We know the PRC (People's Republic of China) has overflown these surveillance balloons over more than 40 countries across five continents. The Biden Administration is reaching out to countries directly about the scope of this programme and answer any questions,” a senior State Department official said.
"We know these balloons are all part of a PRC (People's Republic of China) fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations. These kinds of activities are often undertaken at the direction of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” said the official.
"The company also advertises balloon products on its website and hosts videos from past flights, which appear to have overflown at least US airspace and airspace of other countries. These advertised balloon videos seemingly have similar flight patterns as the balloons we have been discussing this week,” the official said.
"The United States will also explore taking action against PRC entities linked to the PLA that supported the balloon's incursion into US airspace. We will also look at broader efforts to expose and address the PRC’s larger surveillance activities that pose a threat to our national security, and to our allies and partners,” said the official.
"High-resolution imagery from U-2 flybys revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations. The high altitude balloons’ equipment was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons,” the official alleged.
"It had multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications. It was equipped with solar panels large enough to produce the requisite power to operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors," the official said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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