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In early February 2023, the US government reported the presence of a high altitude balloon travelling over US and Canadian airspace. It was quickly found to be a Chinese spy balloon, part of the country’s developing surveillance capabilities. Over the course of 5 days, the balloon travelled across the mainland US from Montana to the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of South Carolina where it was shot down by the US Air Force on 4 Feb 2023.
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Three key facts about this map
The Chinese Spy Balloon was self-propelled to intentionally pass sensitive sites
Unlike traditional weather balloons that tend to follow weather patterns, this balloon was equipped with solar panels, rudders and propellers allowing the operators to control the path it took. The spy balloon travelled across the Pacific Ocean and over Alaska before turning south through Canada where it intentionally crossed several sensitive US military sites in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota, including Air Force bases and suspected locations of nuclear missile sites.
After the incident, China asserted the balloon was only for meteorological purposes
Despite clear intel that the balloon was a surveillance/spy balloon, the Chinese government double-downed on their claim that it was a meteorological balloon that unintentionally flew off-course. The government went as far as to fire Zhuang Guotai, the head of the China Meteorological Administration, in an attempt to persuade the US that the balloon was in fact not for surveillance purposes. Following this, China condemned the US move to ultimately shoot down the “private, civilian balloon” as an act against China’s sovereignty. All of China’s claims are unfounded, and the balloon was fitted with materials heavily suggesting surveillance and intelligence-gathering capabilities instead of meteorological capabilities.
This particular spy balloon was part of a wider Chinese surveillance program
Over the past decade, China has been investing in improving their military and spy technology, and Hainan Island in the southern part of the country is a large hub for the expansion. On the island sometimes dubbed as the “Hawaii of China”, the military has expanded with a large submarine base fitted with runways, deep ports and caverned tunnels, and even a spaceport to launch satellites (see embedded Google Map below).
China’s balloon program has apparently been in development since 2016 and satellite companies have picked up reads of remote launch sites on Hainan and even north close to the Mongolian border. These sites are distinctive for launching balloons due to a circular or hexagonal launch pad along with assorted radar domes and support hangars.
Additional links and sources
- Source about China’s lead meteorologist being fired from his post (link, published in 2023)
- Article about the potential balloon launch sites (link, published in 2023)
- Second article about potential balloon launch sites in China (link, published in 2023)
How did you feel about the spy balloon incident and the subsequent responses of both the US and China?
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