What You Need to Know About the Alleged Chinese Spy Balloon Shot Down by the US
(Bloomberg) -- After floating over the US for days, a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon has been shot down. But aftershocks from the saga continue to reverberate, with planned talks for the nations’ top diplomats derailed and new tensions injected into the already-strained relations between the world’s two largest economies.
1. What’s a surveillance balloon?
Cheap, quiet and hard to reach — balloons have long been used for reconnaissance purposes, including in conflicts like the American Civil War. The practice became widespread during World War I and was used extensively during the Cold War, when the US launched hundreds of balloons to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union and China. While their use has declined with the rise of unmanned drones and satellites, many countries still employ spy balloons. The Pentagon is expanding investment in high-altitude inflatables, Politico reported last year. Modern balloons, like those of the US, have the ability to not only capture images but intercept communications. They can also extend cellular service and the range of drones and other military assets. A senior Biden administration official told Bloomberg News that the balloon has a small motor and propellers, distinguishing it from other devices that generally are not maneuverable.
2. What do we know about the balloon that was shot down?
According to the US defense officials, the balloon has a payload the size of several buses. It first passed into US sovereign airspace on Jan. 28, north of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It traveled east across the northern part of the state, then into the far northwest of Canadian airspace on Jan. 30. It swung south back into the US again above northern Idaho on Jan. 31.
The Biden administration disclosed the balloon’s existence on Feb. 2, as it was floating over the western state of Montana. The location is sensitive, since the state is home to the Air Force’s 341st Missile Wing and its Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
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