The espionage balloon allegedly sent by China has caused quite a stir in the United States. According to “NBC News”, it is now clear what its purpose was. The TV station reports, citing two current high-ranking US officials and a former high-ranking government official, that the balloon has collected sensitive data from several US military facilities.

China was able to steer the balloon and sometimes fly over the bases several times. Data was transmitted to China in real time until the balloon was shot down over the Atlantic by the US military on February 4. The information gathered by China came mostly from electronic signals that can be received by weapon systems or from communications by base personnel, rather than images, NBC News reports. However, China denies having anything to do with the alleged spy balloon.

On February 17, the United States recovered the debris from the downed balloon and began studying its technology. The alleged results of this investigation can now be found in the report of “NBC News”.

Sources: Reuters, “NBC News”.