US sailors recovered part of a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon off Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on February 5. US Navy Photo: Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Tyler Thompson
U.S. officials say an analysis of the wreckage showed that the giant Chinese balloon shot down last week was indeed designed for espionage and was part of a broader surveillance program spanning several continents. increase. This is what we know so far.
Where was the balloon wreckage recovered?
The balloon, flying between 18,000 meters (58,000 feet) and 19,800 meters, was destroyed by a single AIM-9X missile from a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet off the coast of South Carolina. Coast Guard and Navy ships have launched recovery attempts in the area. Right on North Myrtle Beachalong with the FBI, they are currently recovering some parts.
Radio recordings of the pilot shooting down the balloon show that he saw “metal falling apart” as it fell. Recovery is easier in this area, as the water is only 15 meters deep, but because it was shot down from a high altitude, most of the debris was spread over an area of several square kilometers.
Hunting includes ships and unmanned submersibles. By 5 February, the day after he was shot down, at least some debris had been recovered and images shared by the U.S. government, but bad weather hampered recovery efforts.
The FBI has already investigated some of the canopy, wires and electronics that were once filled with gas, but most of the wreckage is still on the ocean floor.
Were Chinese balloons spies?
A Chinese foreign ministry official said the balloon was a civilian airship used primarily for meteorological research and was blown off course because it had “limited autopilot capabilities.”
But U.S. officials say the device had a propeller and was capable of navigating, and could also change altitude and pick up winds in different directions.
U.S. officials said the balloons flew over a number of key military installations across the country, including missile silos and Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. They claimed it was a surveillance mission and took steps to stop collecting data and use manned U2 spy planes to observe from above and see what they were transmitting to Chinese satellites. I’m here.
Officials say a second balloon was seen over Central and South America, and they believe a third balloon operated at an undisclosed location. The possibility of several balloons being blown off course at once and the route passing over the United States further emphasizes that this is a spy balloon.Reports are now surfacing of possible sightings in Japan in 2020 and 2021, with Taipei and India.
How big were the Chinese reconnaissance balloons and what did they carry?
Photos taken while the balloon was still in flight show it had a large payload with a scaffold-like structure and solar panels. However, details of the type of electronics recovered have been kept secret, except that there were multiple antennas and sensors.
We know from U.S. military officials that the balloon itself was about 60 meters high and the payload was the size of a “regional jet” such as the Embraer ERJ, which varied between 26 and 30 meters in length. increase. It is believed that the payload weighed about 900 kilograms.
Dan Lomas, of Brunel University London, said the United States had publicly disclosed that there were devices in the balloons that collected electronic signals, but it was not clear what type of information and to what extent. says.
Why does China use reconnaissance balloons when it has satellites?
There is precedent for the use of balloons in espionage and warfare. These are believed to have been used in military signals more than 1000 years before him, with French manned observation balloons used at the Battle of Fleulus in 1794.
We now have spy satellites and powered aircraft, but there is still room for simpler and cheaper unmanned balloons, says journalist HI Sutton, author of Espionage.
“Like the United States, China has developed many methods of gathering information about potential adversaries. Many of these have overlapping functions, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. That’s why the U.S. still operates the famous U2 spy plane, decades after it was done,” he says. “Balloons may also have the advantage of the payload they can carry. Another factor is that they are unmanned, which greatly reduces the political risk of being publicly spotted or shot down. increase.”
Just as U2 aircraft are equipped with different sensors and payloads for different missions, balloons will be used to capture images in the visible and invisible spectrum, passively collect electronic communications, and even explore defenses and more. can be adapted to focus on getting information about Their response – and send all that data via satellite. Some have suggested that Chinese balloons may have intercepted mobile communications from military base staff to seek out useful information.
what happens next?
Mr. Lomas said China’s intelligence activities against the United States are a constant and serious threat, and that information gathered through human sources and cyberattacks, regardless of the use of satellites, balloons, or aircraft, can be used as a “mass of technological knowledge.” It is said that it will lead to “relocation”.
“The balloon episode is more political, and even the Biden administration downplays its implications for intelligence,” he says. “This is a message to the United States that China can and will do this. has undermined Sino-American diplomacy.”
More on these topics:
