The Biden administration has determined that the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the United States last week was operating with electronic surveillance technology capable of monitoring US communications, according to a senior State Department oficial.
The balloon “was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations” and was part of a fleet that had flown over “more than 40 countries across five continents.”
“We know the PRC used these balloons for surveillance,” the official said. “High resolution imagery from U-2 flybys revealed that these high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations.”
Signals intelligence refers to information that is gathered by electronic means – things like communication and radars.
Despite the latest revelations about the capabilities of the spy balloon, the Pentagon has insisted since the vessel was first acknowledged publicly that it does not give China capabilities above and beyond what they already have from spy satellites or other modes.
“We did not assess that it presented a significant collection hazard beyond what already exists in actionable technical means from the Chinese,” said Gen. Glenn VanHerck, the commander of US Northern Command and NORAD.
Capitol Hill briefings
Administration officials from the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence community briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday on the balloon, which has prompted criticism from Republicans over allowing it to float across the US before it was shot down off near the Atlantic coast.
Sources familiar said the House’s briefing with Biden administration officials was tensed. The officials told lawmakers that the US has assessed that little new intelligence was gleaned by the Chinese balloon operation because Chinese appeared to stop transmitting information once the US learned of the balloon, in addition to it, US measures to protect sensitive intelligence from China’s spying operations, according to the sources.
The US also believes what they have recovered from the shot-down balloon is beneficial to US intelligence, the sources said.
The State Department official said the balloon was part of a Chinese fleet developed to conduct surveillance operations” with a manufacturer tied to China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the official added.
The official suggested that the US is eyeing sanctions for the presence of the balloon in US airspace – which US officials have repeatedly called a violation of US sovereignty and international law – noting the US “will also explore taking an action against PRC entities linked to the PLA that supports the balloon’s incursion into US airspace.”
A recovery operation to secure debris from the balloon is ongoing with analysis continuing at an FBI laboratory in Virginia, but the officials’ remarks suggest the US has already established that the balloon was operating with electronic surveillance technology.
However, the US has said it has been able to prevent the balloon from intercepting US communications.
“The high-altitude balloons’ equipment was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons. 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,” the official added.
“We could track the exact path of the balloon and ensure no activities or sensitive unencrypted comms would be conducted in its vicinity,” a senior administration official said this week. “The US military took immediate steps to protect against the balloon’s collection of sensitive information, mitigating any intelligence value to the PRC.”
