Chinese balloon had multiple antennas for intelligence gathering, says US official

The Chinese balloon that crossed the continental US last week had multiple antennas for intelligence gathering and was part of a broader surveillance fleet, a senior US state department official said on Thursday.

“High-resolution imagery from U-2 fly-bys revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations,” the official said, referring to US efforts to examine the balloon using spy planes while it was still airborne.

“It had multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications,” the official added.

The US said the Chinese have used these surveillance balloons over more than 40 countries and five continents. It added that Washington will continue to brief allies on the scope of the programme, while senior state department and Pentagon officials will brief Congress on Thursday.

The Biden administration is looking into blacklisting Chinese entities linked to the country’s military that supported the balloon’s crossing into the US, as well as other actions to tackle Beijing’s surveillance programme.

“We will also look at broader efforts to expose and address the PRC’s larger surveillance activities that pose a threat to our national security, and to our allies and partners,” the official said.

Since shooting down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina over the weekend, the US has been salvaging its remains to learn more about the craft and China’s broader surveillance efforts. US officials said they also gained valuable information by tracking the balloon while it remained in the air.

The Biden administration on Thursday released additional details about the balloon, including its manufacturer’s links to the Chinese military, and equipment on board that indicated the aircraft was not used for weather research, as China has claimed.

Citing information from an official procurement portal for China’s military, the official said the balloon’s manufacturer has a direct relationship with Beijing and is an approved vendor for its military forces.

The Chinese balloon traversed the US for eight days, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the US and China. US secretary of state Antony Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing, which would have been the first by a Biden cabinet official, in response to the discovery of the aircraft.

Defence officials said US defence secretary Lloyd Austin tried to reach his Chinese counterpart over the weekend after the US shot down the balloon, but could not get hold of him, in a sign that lines of communication between Beijing and Washington were continuing to fray.

Biden administration officials have said they are aware of at least four previous Chinese surveillance balloons flown over the US, including three during the Trump administration. Senior Pentagon officials disclosed earlier this week that they had only recently learnt about these incursions after the Biden administration stepped up intelligence collection on China.