‘NO PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATION’

State Department Outlines What Was Found on the Downed Spy Balloon

Its features indicate that it could collect communications and “operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors.”

It appears the balloon found floating over U.S. airspace that China insisted was simply collecting weather data could—to nobody’s surprise—collect sensitive communications. The balloon, recovered off the coast of South Carolina, had “multiple antennas” and other components “clearly for intelligence surveillance,” a State Department spokesperson said Thursday. The antennas were likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications, they said. The balloon also had solar panels that generated enough power to “operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors.” And the balloon’s manufacturer appears to have a direct relationship with China’s military. “It’s clear that they have been scrambling to explain why they violated U.S. sovereignty and still have no plausible explanation—and have found themselves on their heels,” the spokesperson said.