Chinese spy balloon! Not a bird, plane, or Superman, but a Chinese spy balloon provoked news, curiosity, and anxiety in the first weeks of February.
However, this ER Precision Optics blog attempts to avoid the emotional or political ramifications of the balloon. Let’s take a look at some of the technology carried in its imposingly packed payload. In other words, what did the balloon carry on its mission to spy? And what could it have carried?
Chinese Spy Baloon? All Aboard for Surveillance Missions
U.S. Surveillance Guards Our Skies After the Intrusion of a Chinese Spy Balloon.
We know that the balloon carried three busloads of technological equipment. There is no doubt it bristled with optical equipment, semiconductors, and circuits.
1. According to reports, the Chinese spy balloon “carried equipment that was designed to intercept sensitive communications.” This was stated by a state department official as he spoke anonymously and off the record.
2. Furthermore, he added, “It had multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications.
3. And he explained, “It was equipped with solar panels large enough to produce the requisite power to operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors.”
More Equipment on the Chinese Spy Balloon
Different types of cameras were probably on board. The first type would be regular digital cameras. Let’s explain the regular camera first.
Let’s say you take a good photograph of your town. That image is conducted to you across the visible spectrum. We can see it with our naked eyes. However, we do not have super-powers so humans only see a certain range of the light spectrum. Of course, we call this the visual spectrum.
No self-respecting spy vehicle would be without cameras. They are indispensable pieces of spy equipment. Furthermore, we suspect such cameras would have incredible zooming and magnification capabilities.
Logical Technology: The Infrared Camera
However, in this modern era, today’s imaging is conducted across different regions of the light spectrum. For example, today we have infrared.
You see, “If it’s nighttime, a camera operating in the visible part of the spectrum is not going to show you anything. It’s all going to be dark. But an infrared camera can pick up things from the heat in the dark.” Such infrared cameras are essential for espionage and military applications.
Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon?
Flight of Fancy: For Over a Week, Americans Pondered the Mission of a Chinese Spy Balloon.
There was anxiety and a heavy flurry of social media posts concerning the possibility that the Chinese Spy Balloon could carry an EMP weapon. What would such a weapon do?
The consensus is that an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) weapon could cripple or destroy our electrical grid. Newsweek featured a fact-check on this possibility.
Below is the official definition of an EMP weapon.
1. According to a 2018 report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the term EMP refers to an “electromagnetic pulse caused by a nuclear device or nonnuclear device.”
2. Furthermore, the report stated, “A nuclear electromagnetic pulse (NEMP) is a burst of electromagnetic (gamma) radiation…
The report also says it can be “created by a nuclear explosion that produces rapidly changing electric and magnetic fields.”
Fact-checking the EMP Theory
According to Newsweek, the EMP package was possible but not probable as a balloon-delivered weapon. They gave three expert reasons:
- “First, slow-moving balloons would be easy to spot and shoot down…” Yes, and the US did just exactly that to the famous Chinese Spy Balloon of 2023.
- Experts added, “Second, it makes far more sense to deliver this type of effect via a ballistic missile which travels much quicker…” Likewise, a missile would be “harder to intercept and provide much more surprise.”
- “Third, it would be a massive gamble to conduct an EMP attack without also planning for major military and probably nuclear confrontation…”
In conclusion, the Newsweek article did not say the possibility and fear of an EMP package aboard the balloon were false, just that it “needed context.” It was cold comfort to be told that such a destructive weapon would probably come from a missile launch, not a balloon. To find out more, go to this online resource.
In Addition to Cameras and Communication Equipment: Navigation Technology
A “Dragon Lady” U2 Spy Plane That Flew Above the Chinese Spy Balloon and Deflected Its Data Back to the U.S.
Many balloons travel by drifting on the wind, but officials reported that the Chinese Spy Balloon sported propellers. Likewise, it was powered by large solar panels. This gave it an eerie, almost satellite appearance. Some suggested it even had a rudder. That makes a certain amount of sense since a balloon has been termed an airship.
Did You Know About the Dragon Lady?
Two of our surveillance planes, known as the USAF U2S Dragon-Lady, recorded the communications material being transmitted by the balloon.
Before the Navy shot down the balloon, the 2 Dragon Lady planes flew beside and above it. Thus, any secrets they transmitted were downloaded back to us. The planes captured “detailed imagery of the balloon floating at around 60,000 feet…”
High-quality optics and “sensors on the planes collected images and electronic data that emanated from the payload slung underneath the balloon.” Officials say, “Now government specialists can determine some of the balloon’s capabilities and forensically piece together a picture of past flights over the U.S. and other countries that previously went undetected.”
Terrific Take-Away from the Chinese Spy Balloon
Chinese Spy Balloon After the U.S. Jet Fires Its First Missile.
From the U2S Dragon Lady’s investigation, we think our military knows what China was looking for, what they got, and how they got it. Therefore, their little spy balloon mission probably failed in spite of all its equipment and subterfuge.
Likewise, as the Navy continues to examine the debris of the balloon, a few mysteries will remain. The incident will go down in history as a 2023 February distraction. Still, ER Precision Optics thinks more than one person will cast a wary eye toward the sky and wonder.
