There are up to four additional Chinese spy balloons that have been noted by U.S. intelligence in a recent trove of leaked classified Pentagon documents, according to a report on Friday.
A spy balloon that attracted national attention when it traversed U.S. airspace earlier this year was one of at least three other balloons documented by the United States. Another balloon flew over a U.S. carrier strike group in an unreported incident. The third crashed in the South China Sea, a top-secret document obtained by the Washington Post stated. It is not clear when the other events occurred.
SUSPECT FIRST LEAKED TEXT OF CLASSIFIED DOCS AROUND DECEMBER, AFFIDAVIT SAYS
The Chinese spy balloon spotted in U.S. airspace was referred to as Killeen-23 by U.S. intelligence agencies. The balloon carried an array of sensors and antennas that the U.S. government still had not identified more than a week after it went down, according to the document allegedly leaked by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira.
Two other balloons were referred to as Bulger-21 and Accardo-21 in another document. Bulger-21 carried surveillance equipment and was reportedly in the air from December 2021 until May 2022, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency document said. The other balloon carried similar equipment and a “foil-lined gimbaled” sensor. The balloons are named after notorious criminals and in alphabetical order.
The documents also detailed a lack of “strong senior” oversight of the balloon surveillance program, according to the report. The balloon invading U.S. airspace likely caught some of China’s government by surprise as a result, according to a document that relied on intercepted communications.
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One photograph in a document showed the logo of the Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group, which the U.S. sanctioned in February. Text in the photo also says Static Stratospheric Constellation System in Chinese, a reference to networks of balloons that could be used instead of satellite-based communications. It appeared to be the first specific link between the company and a spy balloon.
The Killeen-23 balloon caught public attention after it flew over or near military installations in Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Missouri. It first entered U.S. airspace on Jan. 28 over Alaska before entering Canadian airspace. The balloon reentered U.S. airspace over Montana on Jan. 31 and was discovered by the public on Feb. 2 before the U.S. military shot it down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.
