According to sources familiar with a technical analysis conducted by the U.S. military, the Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. skies in 2023 was equipped with American technology.
The discovery of a satellite communication module, sensors and other technology from at least five U.S. companies, underscores the failure of the country’s efforts to limit exports of technology that could have military uses, favoring rival nations such as China, Russia and Iran.
The affair also raised questions about the role of private companies selling their equipment globally. The aircraft in question entered the U.S. in January 2023, passing over Alaskan skies: it then flew over Canada and the American Midwest before being shot down by an F-22 fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.
Inside, the giant balloon had technological equipment typically used for surveillance. At the time, the Chinese government justified itself by saying it was a weather balloon that had been blown off course by winds. In reality, the technological cargo on board allowed the craft to take surveys, take photographs and collect other data. The balloon may also have carried launchable gliders capable of collecting more detailed data, since it had empty storage compartments.
The 75-page analysis of parts recovered from the aircraft was conducted by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center in Ohio (NASA). The technology identified matches that contained in a patent awarded in 2022 to scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Aerospace Information Innovation Research Institute in Beijing, which has ties to the Chinese military.
The patent included a short-range messaging module called Iridium 9602, manufactured by Iridium, a global satellite communications provider based in McLean, Virginia. Analysis of the recovered material also showed the medium incorporated technology from four other U.S. companies (Texas Instruments, Omega Engineering in Connecticut, Amphenol All Sensors Corporation and Onsemi) and a Swiss company.
However, after the recent discovery, the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. reiterated that the balloon was flying over the U.S. purely by chance. At the same time, Iridium’s top management justified themselves by saying that they could not know in whose hands their technological devices would end up, but revealed that they have business partners in China.
“We certainly don’t condone our radios or our modules ending up and being used in ways they shouldn’t be,” the company concluded.
