The U.S. Navy has released photos of the process of recovering a Chinese spy balloon shot down by U.S. forces on the orders of President Joe Biden, and a Washington Post exclusive reveals that U.S. intelligence agencies have tied up the downed Chinese balloon Last Saturday, the United States blocked a massive spy program that is in run by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force, and US officials have begun informing allies and partners who have been victims of this behavior about what it is.
According to several U.S. officials who spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, the purpose of the observation balloon, which was operated partly from Hainan Province off China’s south coast for several years, was to gather as much military information as possible. as far as possible in other countries and regions of interest. Strategy for China, including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines.
Officials said that these observation balloons were seen on 5 continents. One of them said, “The Chinese used old technology and combined it with modern communications and monitoring” to try to gather intelligence on other countries’ armies, calling the matter “an enormous effort.”
While most of China’s long-range surveillance efforts are being carried out, with the help of an expanding array of military satellites, the People’s Liberation Army has planned what it sees as a window of opportunity for espionage in the upper atmosphere, i.e. at higher altitudes than commercial aircraft, according to these officials. will be able to fly in balloons at an altitude of 18,000 to 24,000 meters or even more.
One official said analysts still don’t know the size of China’s balloon fleet, but they do know that “dozens” of missions have been flown since 2018.
The report, prepared by the newspaper’s three editors, added that the Chinese have benefited from technology provided by a private Chinese company as part of efforts to integrate the country’s civilian and military sides, a program through which private companies develop technologies and capabilities used by the People’s Liberation Army.
Editors Elaine Nakishima, Shane Harris and Dan Lamothe quoted these officials as saying that at least 4 balloons have been sighted over Hawaii, Florida, Texas and Guam in recent years, in addition to the last balloon seen last week.
They stated that 3 of these four cases occurred during the administration of former US President Donald Trump, but have not yet been classified as Chinese control balloons.
They added that other balloons were spotted in Latin America and allied nations in the Pacific, and that seeing the last balloon helped fill in the gaps for the other four.
Officials pointed out that hot air balloons, while not often using the latest technology, have some advantages, such as flying over a target in a matter of hours, while it may only take a few minutes for an Earth-orbiting satellite to photograph its target. .
One said analysts believe balloons, like parades, can be remotely piloted at speeds of 30 to 60 miles per hour. Because balloons fly in stronger winds, their trajectory is less predictable and therefore difficult to track, and balloons are much cheaper to manufacture and launch than satellites.
The newspaper concluded by saying that officials said some of the balloons were launched from China on flight paths that they flew around the world.
