Shock twist in Chinese spy balloon saga as ‘contents of...

THE contents of a Chinese spy balloon that flew across the US before being shot down by American F-22s have finally been revealed. The enormous craft - as big as three buses - had flown over areas that contained sensitive airbases and nuclear missiles in underground silos. US officials said at the time that the balloon was "used by the PRC [People's Republic of China] in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States".

Image Credit: The Sun [Close-up photo of a Chinese spy balloon taken from a U-2 surveillance plane.]

"Clearly, the intent of this balloon is for surveillance," said a US official. However, military analysts have now found that the spycraft was secretly packed with US technology that may have helped China spy on American grounds. Officials found that the balloon was equipped with American-made satellite communication modules and sophisticated sensors from at least five different US companies, Newsweek reports.

Image Credit: The Sun [Parachute descending against a blue sky.]

The American technology allowed the spy balloon to take photographs and collect sensitive information, according to a classified report seen by the outlet. The balloon is understood to have been operating above civilian air traffic and below "outer space.". It was first spotted over Billings, Montana, in 2023 where residents on the ground reported it to local officials. Montana is home to the Malmstrom Air Force Base, which houses one of the three nuclear missile fields in the U.S. It is home to 150 ICBM silos.

Image Credit: The Sun [Soldiers retrieving equipment from the ocean on a boat.]

The spy balloon later drifted from Idaho southeast to the Carolinas before being shot down in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of South Carolina. It had the ability to manoeuvre and was operating at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. And after days of monitoring its movement, the surveillance balloon was taken out by a single AIM-9X air-to-air missile fired from an F22 fighter jet over the Atlantic near South Carolina.

Image Credit: The Sun [Illustration of China spy balloon path over the US, showing its size and proximity to US nuclear bases.]

China expressed "strong dissatisfaction" against the object being shot down after claiming the balloon "used for meteorological purposes" accidentally entered American airspace due to strong winds. A statement from the country’s foreign ministry added that Washington was ”overreacting” and “seriously violating international practice.”. "China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protest against the U.S.'s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft," the statement read.

Image Credit: The Sun [Satellite against a dark blue sky.]

"The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the US side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure - it was completely an accident.". The advantages of balloons over satellites include the ability to scan wide swathes of territory from closer in, and to be able to spend more time over an area. Such balloons typically operate at 80,000 and 120,000 feet - with airliners normally flying around 40,000 feet.