China's spy balloon shot down by the United States in February managed to collect data from "several sensitive American military sites," NBC News reported on Tuesday. According to three unnamed senior US officials, the balloon was remotely controlled by Chinese authorities and it flew over some sites several times, sending intelligence back in real-time.
The balloon reportedly picked up electronic signals "which can be picked up from weapons systems or include communications from base personnel." The sources said that US efforts to limit signal emissions and hide some targets successfully limited the scope of data gathered by the balloon. They added that it contained a self-destruct mechanism and that it is unclear why it was not triggered.
