According to NBC News, the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States managed to collect intelligence from several sensitive military sites, despite the Biden administration’s efforts to prevent it.
The balloon was controlled by China and made multiple passes over some of the sites, transmitting the collected electronic signals back to Beijing in real-time. Although the intelligence gathered was primarily electronic signals from weapons systems and base personnel communications, the administration’s countermeasures disrupted the balloon’s ability to collect more information from sensitive locations, the report said.
Still, the Defense Department insists that the balloon had limited value for intelligence collection beyond what China could already acquire through low earth orbit satellites.
The Defense Department spokesperson reiterated that the intelligence collected by the balloon had limited value for China but declined to elaborate.
The National Security Council spokesperson, Kirby John, declined to comment on the specific electronic signals or communications that the balloon could have accessed.
