The alleged Chinese spy balloon, which American forces shot down off the coast of South Carolina in early February, is said to have been able to gather military information and send it to Beijing. NBC reported on Monday, referring to US officials, that despite the Pentagon's efforts to protect military installations from skimming, Beijing was able to pilot the balloon over several critical facilities and receive information in real time. These were mainly electronic signals from weapons systems and communications of personnel in military bases.
Majid Sattar
Political correspondent for North America based in Washington.
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The intelligence damage would have been far greater if the American military had not tried to block the skimming, it said. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday he could not confirm the report. He did not want to anticipate the forensic examination.
Flight over military base with nuclear missiles
The Pentagon pointed to information from February that the balloon had a "limited added value" for the Chinese compared to the information Beijing could collect with satellites. The balloon is also said to have had a remote-controlled self-destruct mechanism. It was unclear whether this had been defective or why Beijing had not made use of it.
The balloon entered American airspace over Alaska on January 28. He then flew over the state of Montana, where he spent some time above Malmstrom Air Force Base. There are units of the "Air Force Global Strike Command" stationed, which operates nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles of the type Minuteman III.
After an F-22 fighter jet pulled the balloon out of the sky, President Joe Biden said he had given orders days earlier to shoot down the object. The Pentagon had advised because of the danger of falling parts to wait until the balloon was no longer over the mainland. Beijing accused Washington of an "overreaction" and a "violation of international practice." It was a "civil airship" for scientific purposes, which had entered American airspace by "force majeure". The Republicans accused Biden of having waited too long.