Chinese Spy Balloon Was Able To Send Information On Military Sites To China

The Chinese spy balloon that floated across the United States was able to transmit data in real-time back to China, senior U.S. officials told NBC News.

The balloon was also under Chinese control as it made multiple passes over several military sites before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Carolinas. The remains of the balloon were recovered and sent to the FBI for further analysis. Agents have been working to reconstruct the balloon to determine how it worked.

The officials said that the balloon was capable of intercepting electronic signals and transmitting them back to China.

"The intelligence China collected was mostly from electronic signals, which can be picked up from weapons systems or include communications from base personnel, rather than images," the official told the news outlet.

The military was able to predict the path of the balloon and managed to secure sensitive sites and scramble electronic signals before they could be picked up by the sensors on the balloon.

The balloon was equipped with a self-destruct feature, but it is unknown if it malfunctioned or if China decided not to destroy the balloon after it was spotted over U.S. airspace.