Chinese Spy Balloon that collected photos, videos was equipped with American technology

A mysterious Chinese spy balloon that was spotted over the United States before it was shot down by the military off the coast of South Carolina in 2023 reveals disturbing information. According to a report made public Monday, the balloon was carrying technology from at least five American companies.

Citing two sources with direct knowledge of a U.S. military technical analysis, Newsweek reported that among the equipment recovered from the balloon were a satellite communication module, sensors and other sophisticated surveillance equipment, some of which was housed in a foam cooler.

Sources who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity, said a short burst messaging module called Iridium 9602 was among the tech equipment recovered. The device is produced by Virginia-based global satellite communications provider Iridium.

The sources also stated the four other U.S. companies whose parts were identified in the balloon were Texas Instruments, Omega Engineering, Amphenol All Sensors Corp. and Onsemi. Equipment from STMicroelectronics of Switzerland was also recovered and identified.

Jordan Hassim, Iridium’s executive director for communications, told the outlet that the company doesn’t condone the use of its radios or modules “being used in ways they shouldn’t be.”

“There’s no way for us to know what the use is of a specific module,” Hassim said. “We need to know the module specifically. For us, it could be a whale wearing a tag tracking it, it could be a polar bear, an explorer hiking a mountain.” Hassim said the company would immediately work with partners such as the U.S. government to disable any devices being misused.

Fox News reports the Chinese spy balloon flew from Alaska to the East Coast, where it was shot down by the military over the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 4, 2023. Beijing claimed it was a weather balloon, though an investigation by U.S. intelligence agencies found the balloon was used for spying. Information captured by the spy balloon is not believed to have been successfully relayed to Beijing.

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