Spy Balloon Activities
CBS News national security correspondent David Martin talked with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley about the incursion of U.S. airspace that had the nation and its politicians in a tizzy – and about what the US learned from an examination of the balloon's wreckage. Milley said the balloon wasn't spying. "The intelligence community, their assessment – and it's a high-confidence assessment – [is] that there was no intelligence collection by that balloon," he said. The balloon had been headed toward Hawaii, but the winds at 60,000 feet apparently took over. "Those winds are very high," Milley said. "The particular motor on that aircraft can't go against those winds at that altitude."
In April 2023, anonymous officials told NBC News that the balloon made “multiple passes” over US military sites to intercept electronic communications, before it “increased its speed” in an attempt “to get it out of US airspace as quickly as possible.”
David Martin reported "After the Navy raised the wreckage from the bottom of the Atlantic, technical experts discovered the balloon's sensors had never been activated while over the Continental United States." Martin asked, "Bottom line, it was a spy balloon, but it wasn't spying?" Milley replied, "I would say it was a spy balloon that we know with high degree of certainty got no intelligence, and didn't transmit any intelligence back to China."
The newspaper of record, the New York Times, for example, quoted anonymous US officials in a report just a few days before the general’s comments, saying that China had apparently stopped its spy balloon program altogether. But, again, it’s not even clear if there was a spy balloon to begin with. The ineptitude of the American media was directly involved in the deterioration of diplomatic efforts between the US and China. Will there be a reflection, changes in editorial standards, or even just a brush-up on the basic principles of journalism? Of course not. There is a serious amount of audience capture, as well as other systemic issues, at play. Some of the more obvious ones are that being critical of sources may prompt those sources to stop speaking to the outlet.
Using high altitude balloons for scientific research activities has become an international norm, with data from the China Science Daily showing that by 2018, the US had released more than 2,000 high altitude balloons, France around 3,000, and Japan more than 800. Civilian balloons include two categories. Some are released by scientific research units for purposes that include monitoring atmospheric circulation and meteorological detection, and the other comes from companies, such as Google, which use balloons for navigation and communication.
In recent years, high-altitude balloons have appeared over Japan. For example, in 2020, a high-altitude balloon was discovered over the northeastern region of Japan, with a cross-shaped object suspended below it. Japan's defense minister said at the time that the balloon was being closely monitored. A source-based report by CNN claimed that the US has developed a method within the last one year to track China's spy balloon fleet. The report claimed that such incidents happened in the past also, but went undetected.
At a briefing on 06 February 2023, a senior U.S. defense official said “These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries”. There were three Chinese surveillance balloons operating in the Western Hemisphere at the same time, the official said.
Multiple ‘Chinese spy balloons’ entered US before the recent incident. More than one “Chinese spy balloon” traveled through US airspace in the months and years preceding the most recent encounter, official sources told Fox News on 05 February 2023. This countered claims by former President Donald Trump that his administration would never have permitted such a thing.
One balloon reportedly crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii four months ago, while another passed through Florida and Texas during the presidency of Trump, the sources claimed. Another source told Fox of four such incidents preceding the current one.
The unnamed officials’ claims backed up statements from the administration of President Joe Biden that Chinese surveillance balloons had traveled across the continental US at least three times under Trump. Responding to those claims, the former president insisted that “this never happened. It would have never happened” and accused the White House of spreading “disinformation” to distract from its own “incompetent” behavior. “It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately,” he told Fox News on Sunday.
However, a senior administration official countered that “US intelligence, not the Biden administration,” believed “PRC government surveillance balloons transited the continental US briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time.” The previous balloon crossings “went undetected,” the source told Fox on Sunday, describing it as “part of a larger pattern.”
The US military detected a second high altitude balloon it claims to be a surveillance device belonging to China, last tracked traveling over Latin America. Speaking to media on 03 February 2023, Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder said the second object had been assessed as “another Chinese surveillance balloon,” although this one did not appear to be headed toward the United States. Beijing confirmed that a balloon spotted flying over Latin America is Chinese.
Chinese foreign ministry said the balloon spotted over Colombia was of a "civilian nature and used for flight tests". ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said “Affected by weather forces in addition to its manoeuvrability being limited, the airship deviated greatly from its expected course, and accidentally entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace”.
The US briefed 40 allied countries on the alleged espionage, a senior Biden administration official confirmed to CBS News. In that briefing, Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also revealed that a balloon had circled the planet in 2019, flying over Hawaii and Florida.
The United States said 08 February 2023 that suspected Chinese spy balloons like the one it shot down were part of a "fleet" that has spanned five continents, as NATO joined in voicing concern. Pointing to global ramifications of the incident that had animated the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was giving data to allies as it assesses the recovered debris.
"We already shared information with dozens of countries around the world, both from Washington and through our embassies," Blinken said. "We're doing so because the United States was not the only target of this broader program, which has violated the sovereignty of countries across five continents," he told a joint news conference with NATO's visiting chief.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, speaking separately to reporters on Air Force One, described the balloons as part of a "fleet" and said they had been spotted around the world for several years.
Speaking to reporters on 09 February 2023, an unnamed senior US State Department official said the US “will also look at broader efforts to expose and address [China’s] larger surveillance activities that pose a threat to our national security, and to our allies and partners.”
“The high altitude balloon’s equipment was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons,” the US official said in a written statement. “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.” State made that determination based on images taken by U-2 spy planes of the balloon during flybys.
According to the official, the balloon was just one part of a larger, globe-spanning intelligence program that the Pentagon says has covered 40 nations on five continents. The program is allegedly run out of the southern Chinese island of Hainan, and according to the official, is made by a company with close ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). No reports have named the company in question.
“We know these balloons are all part of a PRC [People's Republic of China] fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations,” the official said. “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,” the State Department official said. “These advertised balloon videos seemingly have similar flight patterns as the balloons we have been discussing this week.”
The United States Commerce Department added six Chinese entities connected to Beijing's suspected surveillance balloon program to an export blacklist. The department said that the five companies and one research institute were supporting "China's military modernization efforts, specifically the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) aerospace programs including airships and balloons."
The Entity List (supplement no. 4 to part 744 of the EAR (15 CFR parts 730-774)) identifies entities for which there is reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable facts, that the entities have been involved, are involved, or pose a significant risk of being or becoming involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. "The PLA is utilizing High Altitude Balloons (HAB) for intelligence and reconnaissance activities. This activity is contrary to U.S. national security and foreign policy interests..."
The US determined to add Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology Co., Ltd.; China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute; Dongguan Lingkong Remote Sensing Technology Co., Ltd.; Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd. (EMAST); Guangzhou Tian-Hai-Xiang Aviation Technology Co., Ltd.; and Shanxi Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd. all under the destination of China, to the Entity List. Of note, none fo these entities were reported to have operating locations on Hainan Island.
The move came a day after US lawmakers unanimously criticized Beijing's use of a suspected spy balloon that flew over North America last week. The new curbs also come after the White House said it would consider broader efforts to "expose and address" China's larger surveillance activities that threaten US national security and allies.
US military and intelligence knew nothing about the existence of Chinese "spy balloons" until a few months ago, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on 12 February 2023. "The bottom line is — for until a few months ago, we didn't know of these balloons. Our intelligence and our military did not know," Schumer said. The Democratic majority leader also said that he had been briefed on the situation on Saturday night by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. "Now they are learning a lot more. And the military and the intelligence are focused like a laser on, first, gathering and accumulating the information, then coming up with a comprehensive analysis of what went on before, what's going on now, and what could go on in the future," Schumer said.
China accused the United States 13 February 2023 of flying balloons over its territory, hitting back against Washington's claims that Beijing has been sending alleged surveillance aircraft. The White House denied the accusations. A number of other such devices have since been shot down over the US and Canada, though Beijing only admitted that the first was one of its own.
"It's not uncommon as well for the US to illegally enter the airspace of other countries," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a briefing. "Since last year alone, US balloons have illegally flown above China more than 10 times without any approval from Chinese authorities." Asked how China responded to those alleged incursions, Wang said Beijing's "handling (of these incidents) was responsible and professional". "If you want to know more about US high-altitude balloons illegally entering China's airspace, I suggest you refer to the US side," he added.
The US military observed a number of alleged Chinese surveillance balloons over the Middle East in recent years, Air Forces Central Command chief Lt. Gen Alexus Grynkewich said on 13 February 2023. “Even though we have seen high altitude balloons in the region before, they have not been a threat, they have not been something of concern for us.” Grynkewich said at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Across the US military’s Central Command, which encompasses the Middle East and parts of Central Asia, one “main incident” involving a balloon took place last fall, while “one or two others” took place in previous years, the general continued. These balloons, which Grynkewich identified as Chinese, “have not hung out over American bases or been any threat to our forces whatsoever,” he added. “The level of concern that I have about them is extremely low,” he said. “It’s not something I lose sleep over.”
The White House on 13 February, said that there is "no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity" in the recently down unidentified objects over North American skies. "I know there have been questions and concerns about this but there is no, again no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "I wanted to make sure that the American people knew that," she added during her daily press briefing.
In April 2023 the documents leaked by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira purportedly revealing details of four Chinese "balloons" included a document produced by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency dated February 15 contains the most detailed government assessment to date of three Chinese airships. Citing intelligence analysts, the The Washington Post assessed that one of the "balloons" that flew over the US in February could generate enough power to operate "any" surveillance and reconnaissance technology, including a type of radar that can see at night and through clouds and thin materials. In the leaked classified documents published by The Washington Post, it assessed that the solar panels on one balloon could generate upward of 10,000 watts of solar power, more than enough to operate any surveillance capability, including synthetic aperture radar. The leaked NGA document also contains an image of an "unidentified structure" with a diameter of about 0.75 meters protruding from the top of Killeen-23, the purpose of which is unclear.
It appears that the balloons were named after notorious criminals, including Tony Accardo, James 'Whitey' Bulger, and Donald Killeen but the reason behind this remains unclear. One balloon flew over a U.S. carrier strike group, another, code named Bulger-21 by U.S. officials, circumnavigated the Earth from Dec 2021 until May 2022, a third named Accardo-21 is also mentioned in the documents and a fourth is said to have crashed in the South China sea. The documents also identify the balloon that crossed the continental U.S. in January and February before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina was code-named Killeen-23.
The Financial Times published an article 16 April 2023 entitled "China stalls Antony Blinken's Beijing visit over 'spy balloon' concerns" on Saturday, alleging that China is refusing to let US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visit Beijing over concerns that the FBI will release the results of an investigation into the downed suspected Chinese "spy balloon."
In a letter to President Biden 16 June 2023, a group of 16 Republican senators, led by Roger Wicker and Marco Rubio, wrote: “While four months have passed since a Chinese surveillance balloon was allowed to fly across the United States, 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.”
When Moscow shot down Gary Powers, the wreakage of his U-2 was soon on dislay for all to see. But Washington never publicly produced a shred of evidence proving the balloon was spying. The Wall Street Journal reported 29 June 2023 [“Chinese balloon used American tech to spy on Americans”] that the preliminary findings of US investigators, after examining the debris recovered from the balloon, was that “the craft collected photos and videos but didn’t appear to transmit them.” The article declared the report “found the balloon was crammed with commercially available U.S. gear, some of it for sale online, and interspersed with more specialized Chinese sensors and other equipment to collect photos, video and other information to transmit to China,” which supported “a conclusion that the craft was intended for spying.” These findings “have been circulated within intelligence and defense agencies beginning in the second half of March, the officials said.”
Months after the media frenzy over the Chinese “spy” balloon, the Pentagon acknowledged that the balloon neither collected nor transmitted data or intelligence. In other words, the balloon did not spy at all. The admission only came in passing by Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder in response to a question at a press conference 30 June 2023. While alleging the balloon had “intelligence collection capabilities,” and claiming that unspecified US efforts helped“to mitigate the potential collection efforts of that balloon”, Ryder declared: “It has been our assessment now that it did not collect while it was transiting the United States or over-flying the United States.”
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