Chinese Spy Balloon Collected Intel from Military Sites after Biden Admin Delayed Take-Down
The Chinese spy balloon that intruded into U.S. airspace successfully collected intelligence from sensitive military sites as the Biden administration deliberated for several days before shooting it down off the Carolina coast.
The balloon was steered over some military locations multiple times, even in figure eight formations, gathering data to send back to Beijing in real time, two current senior U.S. officials and one former senior administration official told CNBC.
However, the Biden administration shifted around some potential targets and prevented them from broadcasting or emitting signals to be intercepted by the airship, reducing the amount of intelligence that was ultimately exported back to China, the officials said.
The balloon began its journey in Alaska on Saturday, January 28 and then moved south over the continental U.S. There are nine U.S. military bases in Alaska, conducting missions including air defense and missile-launch detection, weapons testing, air patrols, and training.
Four days after entering U.S. airspace, the balloon was hovering over Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, which houses nuclear weapons systems including intercontinental ballistic missiles. Civilians first spotted the balloon on Wednesday, February 1 floating over the base.
The Pentagon initially decided not to publicize the Chinese incursion so as not to jeopardize Secretary of State Blinken’s forthcoming trip to Beijing, Bloomberg reported. After the balloon began generating national media attention, the State Department postponed the secretary’s visit, though that decision was not made until Friday, hours before Blinken was scheduled to depart, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Several Republican lawmakers immediately demanded the balloon be downed upon its discovery, but the military opted not to shoot it down until had drifted over the Atlantic to avoid civilian casualties and property damage. China deployed the balloon as part of a larger surveillance program run by the People’s Liberation Army that has collected confidential information from multiple countries, U.S. officials said.
Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder confirmed in February that four balloons, later identified as Chinese in origin, had traveled over U.S. territory during the Trump administration. However, some were detected years later under the Biden administration, revealing a “domain awareness gap” in U.S. military surveillance, according to General Glen VanHerck, the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.
Since the scandal, China has maintained that the balloon was a civilian research craft that was blown off course.
