Chinese spy balloon may have had tech to see through materials, leaked doc says
Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Lan Hongguang/Xinhua/Sipa USA/TNS)
APRIL 17, 2023 JUSTIN COOPER
The Chinese spy balloon that flew over the U.S. in February could have been equipped with an advanced sensor capable of seeing through certain materials, according to a leaked U.S. intelligence document.
A previously-unreported document, allegedly leaked with hundreds of others over the chat service Discord, said the balloon’s solar panel array was “more than enough” to power “any” spying tech – including a sensor that can see through some materials and pick up fine details on the Earth’s surface, the Washington Post reported.
Called synthetic aperture radar, the sensor can penetrate darkness, cloud cover, and thin materials, such as tarps, to reveal what is underneath, according to the Post. Instead of capturing optical images, synthetic aperture radar works by pulsing the Earth’s surface with electromagnetic waves, according to NASA.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/04/chinese-spy-balloon-may-have-had-tech-to-see-through-materials-leaked-doc-says/
