A Chinese spy balloon that passed over the United States last year was packed with American technology that could have enabled it to spy on Americans, Newsweek reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of a technical analysis conducted by the US military. The huge balloon with a large payload of electronics flew over the US from Alaska in the northwest to South Carolina in the east from late January to early February in 2023, crossing above sensitive military installations and prompting concerns Beijing was scooping up vital intelligence. The balloon was shot down by the US just off the South Carolina coast and was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean by the US military. 

Now, a year later, it has been revealed that the balloon carried technology from at least five US firms. It contained a satellite communication module, sensors and other sophisticated surveillance equipment. 

At the time, China had said that it was a metrological balloon that had been blown off course by strong winds. However, Newsweek reported that the tech payload equipped the balloon to survey, take photographs and collect their intelligence data. The balloon might have also been carrying launchable gliders that could collect more detailed data since it had empty storage bays, per the outlet. 

Notably, the tech identified matches that in a patent awarded in 2022 to scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Aerospace Information Innovation Research Institute in Beijing. The patent reportedly included a short burst messaging module called Iridium 9602 made by Iridium, a global satellite communications provider based in Virginia. It was titled “A high-altitude balloon safety control and positioning recovery device and method”.

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The analysis of the material recovered from the balloon showed that it had incorporated an Iridium communications system as well as technology from four other US companies and at least one Swiss company. The other American companies whose parts were identified in the balloon are – Texas Instruments, Omega Engineering in Connecticut, Amphenol All Sensors Corporation and Onsemi, according to the outlet. 

Meanwhile, the US had said that the balloon was part of a large-scale surveillance program operated by China over dozens of countries. However, China has reiterated that the balloon was over the US by accident. 

“The straying of the Chinese civilian unmanned airship into the US airspace was an accident caused by force majeure. The airship, used for meteorological research, unintentionally drifted into US because of the westerlies and its limited self-steering capability. China had made these details available to the U.S. side, after earnest verification and in the shortest possible time,” a Chinese spokesperson told the outlet.