- Top-secret documents leaked online reveal that U.S. intelligence agencies were aware of up to at least four more Chinese spy balloons
- A balloon crossed the continental U.S. in January and February before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina – it was code-named Killeen-23
- Jack Teixeira was arrested by FBI officials on April 13 for allegedly posting pictures of between 50 and 100 classified US documents online
Top-secret intelligence documents allegedly leaked by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira reveal that U.S. intelligence agencies were aware of up to four more Chinese spy balloons in addition to the one that flew over the country earlier this year.
One balloon flew over a U.S. carrier strike group, another, code named Bulger-21 by U.S. officials, circumnavigated the Earth from Dec 2021 until May 2022, a third named Accardo-21 is also mentioned in the documents and a fourth is said to have crashed in the South China sea.
The documents also identify the balloon that crossed the continental U.S. in January and February before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina was code-named Killeen-23.
A US official told the Washington Post that the naming convention for such balloons is alphabetical, which suggests there may be even more incidents of Chinese spy balloons being identified that were not leaked.
It also appears that the balloons were named after notorious criminals, including Tony Accardo, James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, and Donald Killeen but the reason behind this remains unclear.
Reportedly hundreds of documents were allegedly shared by Teixeira on a private Discord group with the name Thug Shaker Central.
The most recent documents reveal that the U.S. government was yet to identify the purpose of sensors and antennas on the craft more than a week after it was shot down Feb 4.
The downed balloon was also revealed to carry sophisticated reconnaissance capabilities, including radar that could see at night and penetrate clouds, topsoil and other thin materials, according to one document produced by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on Feb. 15.
Intelligence officials also determined that the craft’s solar panels could generate 10,000 watts of power, enough to power any type of surveillance capability.
The leaked documents also show that Bulger-21 also carried sophisticated surveillance equipment as it circumnavigated the globe, as did Accardo-21.
Bulger-21 is assessed to have been engineered by Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group – a Chinese company sanctioned by the US in the wake of the Feb balloon scandal.
The documents also note that the Chinese government were likely not expecting the balloon to fly into U.S. airspace.
China’s military has operated a vast surveillance balloon project for several years, partly out of Hainan province off China’s south coast, U.S. officials told The Washington Post.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that Killeen-23 had gathered intelligence from several American military sites before it was shot down, according to two senior US officials and a former senior administration official.
The sources said China could have gathered more intelligence if not for the Biden administration’s efforts to block it.
The balloon entered US airspace on 28 January and was shot down on 4 February after passing over US nuclear missile sites, including the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.
The intel collected was mostly from electronic signals, rather than images, the officials told NBC.
China previously claimed that the balloon was a civilian weather balloon that strayed off course. The foreign ministry condemned its shooting down as an ‘overreaction’.
