The Chinese spy balloon that traversed the U.S. skies in 2023 was, in fact, equipped with technology sourced from American companies. Newsweek was the first to report that two sources with close ties to U.S. military technical analysis discovered that the balloon was equipped with technology from at least five U.S. companies, including satellite communication modules and sensors. The equipment on the balloon was capable of taking photographs and gathering intelligence data, some of which originated from Texas Instruments. This technology also matched a patent from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Aerospace Information Innovation Research Institute, which is affiliated with China’s military. This is a significant national security concern. Retired Army Captain Sean Timmons expressed that it is a huge problem if China is actively using American technology. At the time, President Biden initially did not wish to shoot down the balloon over U.S. land, deeming it ‘not a serious threat.’ Chinese officials claim that the balloon was a civilian weather-research airship that inadvertently drifted into U.S. airspace. Timmons blamed the previous administration for the issue, stating that they ‘didn’t spend enough resources on actually protecting Americans and our national interests.’ This is one of the issues that the Trump administration was trying to address. There are several theories on how China obtained American-made technology for the balloon. Timmons suggested that it could have been routed through an American ally. ‘Some of it may have been acquired through shell companies of a third-party vendor,’ he explained. There is also a more sinister and concerning possibility. ‘There may be people within our government who have been taking bribes from the Chinese government,’ Timmons said. The spy balloon began its journey in Alaska and was eventually shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, 2023.
Chinese Spy Balloon Shot Down in ’23 was Equipped with U.S. Technology
