Chinese spy balloon was remote operated, had propellers and rudders and moved in different directions over sensitive sites

WASHINGTON, DC: Initially, when China’s surveillance balloon first passed into U.S. airspace north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on January 28, the Americans believed there was a good chance it would keep moving on a northern trajectory over sparsely populated areas.

“However, two days later it did something unexpected: it slowed down and loitered over Canada. Then all of a sudden it changed course and headed south on a new trajectory that would eventually take it over the U.S. state of Idaho. It was as though the balloon was ‘handled’ and ‘piloted’ by a remote operator, said one official.

“That’s when we knew this was different,” a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The United States operates a military base and nuclear missile silos in Montana, a state bordering Idaho.

In all probability, the balloon was remote controlled and operated from somewhere, possibly from China itself.

According to a Reuters report, one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the balloon was able to linger in the winds over specific areas and move around as though it was remote operated and controlled.

“We saw it do that. It loitered over certain sites. It went left, right. We saw it maneuver inside the jet stream. That’s how it was operating,” the official said, adding that the craft had propellers and rudders.

China says the balloon was a civilian craft used for meteorological and other purposes, and strayed into U.S. airspace “completely accidentally.”

The Chinese spy balloon traveled near sensitive U.S. bases including Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, which oversees 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos, and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, home to U.S. Strategic Command, which is in charge of nuclear forces. It also appeared to drift over Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which operates the Air Force’s B-2 bomber, a Reuters reported stated.

After several public remarks by senior U.S. government officials, the balloon suddenly gathered speed – as if were trying to escape out of U.S. jurisdiction, heading toward the South Carolina’s coast.

Officials said it wasn’t clear how much of that acceleration was due to the jet stream or the use of the balloon’s own steering, but some opine that the balloon had some inbuilt systems to accelerate on its own, using an inbuilt propulsion system and move much faster than normal using the natural jet stream to make a quick getaway.