Leaked Pentagon documents reveal four Chinese balloons suspected by US of espionage, newspaper reports The Washington Post.
According to The Washington Post, the Chinese Accardo probe was recorded first, then during the year, from 2021 to 2022, the observation of the Bulger was described, and two years earlier, Bulger-21 and Accardo-21 were discovered.
The documents also mention incidents with the passage of one aircraft over a US aircraft carrier strike group, as well as the fall of a third in the South China Sea. At the same time, it is not specified whether we are talking about Bulger-21 and Accardo-21.
In February, the United States announced a PRC reconnaissance balloon flying over the country. The flying object appeared in the zone of observation of American security services in the north of the country. He flew in from the Aleutian Islands through the territory of Canada.
The next day, the US military shot down a balloon off the East coast of the country. The operation took place off the coast of the states of South Carolina and North Carolina. The President of the United States personally gave permission to shoot down the aircraft. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in turn, denied the allegation of intelligence gathering. The department said in a statement that the purpose of the balloon was “of a civilian nature.” The probe, in particular, was used for meteorological research. A serious introduction was made to Washington in connection with the incident. The ministry said the incident damaged relations between the two countries.
The downed balloon, according to The Washington Post, was named “Killin-23”. It is clarified that its solar panels generated 10 thousand watts of energy, which, according to American experts, could receive data on the terrain using microwaves, including those objects that, for example, are hidden behind the clouds. At the same time, no confirmation is given regarding the presence of the optical equipment of the probe.
On April 3, the Pentagon said that Washington was confident in the effectiveness of the measures taken to protect its intelligence data from a Chinese balloon.
On the same day, NBC News reported that a Chinese balloon shot down in February managed to collect and transmit intelligence from US military facilities, despite attempts by the administration of US President Joe Biden to block their transmission.
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