Balloon Carrying Gear From 5 US Firms Found Was Shot Down in 2023

A new report revealed that a Chinese spy balloon that soared across the midwest in 2023 was loaded with technology from at least five American companies. The 200-foot-tall balloon was first spotted over Alaska before being shot down by an F-22 in South Carolina.

The balloon, which Beijing insisted was a "civilian weather balloon," was actually packed with surveillance equipment, including a satellite communication module, sensors, and other advanced technology. Some of this high-tech espionage gear was housed in a foam cooler.

More than a year later, agencies have confirmed that the tech recovered from the balloon included parts from five U.S. companies: Iridium, Texas Instruments, Omega Engineering, Amphenol All Sensors Corp., and Onsemi. Equipment from Switzerland’s STMicroelectronics was also identified.

Among the recovered components was an Iridium 9602 short-burst messaging module designed for satellite communications. This handy little device would have allowed Chinese operators to communicate with the balloon and transmit data back to China.

"There's no way for us to know what the use is of a specific module," explained Iridium Executive Director for Communications, Jordan Hassim. "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."

Unfortunately, in this case, it was a Chinese surveillance balloon floating across U.S. airspace.

The 200-foot-tall balloon, which entered U.S. airspace through Alaska and traveled across the Midwest before being shot down by an F-22 on February 4, 2023, may not have provided China with groundbreaking intelligence. But it did highlight a glaring issue: American technology continues to power China’s surveillance efforts despite years of attempts to stop it.

FMI: www.iridium.com