U.S. declassifies balloon intelligence, calls out China for spying

The State Department on Thursday released details about China’s high-altitude balloon surveillance program, declassifying information collected by U.S. U-2 spy planes and other sources to expose what the Biden administration is calling a sophisticated effort to surveil “more than 40 countries across five continents.”

Much of the information released by the State Department was revealed earlier this week by The Washington Post, but its wider publication to the media suggested an effort by the U.S. government to name and shame Beijing’s surveillance tactics after its balloon was shot down Saturday off the coast of South Carolina.

An official said high-resolution imagery captured during the U-2 flybys revealed that the airship was capable of signals intelligence operations far beyond the abilities of a weather balloon, boasting “multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications.” Signals intelligence is a form of spycraft involving the interception of communications or electronic signals to gain valuable information.

The State Department affirmed that China’s balloon spy operations are carried out by the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, using technology manufactured by a firm that has a direct relationship with China’s military.

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