‘Intent surveillance, Beijing gained…’: Pentagon on China spy balloon

China Spy Balloon: Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that “the intent of this balloon was surveillance” despite repeated denials by China.

The Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the US last month managed to gather intelligence from military sites, a Pentagon spokeswoman revealed, adding that the US was able to limit what it collected. The US military responded by taking actions that ensured China gained little “additive value” , Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said.

China Spy Balloon: A printed balloon with Chinese flag is placed on a US flag in this illustration. (Reuters)

China was able to get the information in real time and the intelligence collected sent was mostly from electronic signals rather than images, she further said, adding that the FBI is still conducting an analysis of the spy balloon and what was sent to Beijing using it.

Meanwhile, a US intelligence official told Bloomberg that the analysis so far indicates that the balloon's flight over the country didn’t appear to have provided China with any new information.

Sabrina Singh said that “the intent of this balloon was surveillance” despite repeated denials by China. The US show down the balloon on February 4 using a fighter jet off the South Carolina coast. This comes as top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi said that the latest reports “clearly demonstrate that the administration made an unacceptable mistake” by waiting to destroy the balloon.

Republicans have earlier also criticised the Joe Biden administration for its late response.