United States officials believe the Chinese balloon was affiliated with a military-aerial surveillance program that monitored at least 40 countries. Images of the balloon captured by the American U-2 spy plane show that the balloon was “capable of conducting signals intelligence collection.” The balloon reportedly had antennas and solar panels to power the equipment uploading intelligence.
From Associated Press:
In Beijing, before the U.S. offered its new information, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning repeated her nation’s insistence that the large unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course and that the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down. “It is irresponsible,” Mao said. The latest accusations, she said, “may be part of the U.S. side’s information warfare against China.” Underscoring the tensions, China’s defense minister refused to take a phone call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the balloon issue on Saturday, the Pentagon said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned weekend trip to Beijing.
