Oh, this is rich. A Chinese spy balloon—the same one that floated across the entire United States before the Biden administration finally decided to shoot it down off the South Carolina coast—was carrying technology from at least five American companies.
Yes, you read that right. American-made tech—some of it highly sophisticated surveillance equipment—was found inside the Chinese spy balloon that Beijing laughably claimed was just a “weather balloon.”
According to Newsweek, which cited two sources with direct knowledge of a U.S. military analysis, among the equipment recovered were a satellite communication module, sensors, and other surveillance technology, with some of it literally housed inside a foam cooler. Because, of course, when China goes high-tech, they still stick to Walmart picnic supplies for storage.
And let’s talk about who made this technology—because this is where things go from embarrassing to infuriating.
The balloon contained equipment from five U.S. companies, including:
- Texas Instruments
- Omega Engineering
- Amphenol All Sensors Corp.
- Onsemi
- Iridium Communications
There was also Swiss-made equipment from STMicroelectronics.
One of the most notable pieces? A short-burst messaging module called Iridium 9602, made by Virginia-based Iridium Communications. This little device is normally used for satellite communication, which, as you might guess, is kind of a big deal when it comes to surveillance.
And what does Iridium have to say about this? Well, their executive director for communications, Jordan Hassim, offered this little gem:
“There’s no way for us to know what the use is of a specific module.”
That’s right—according to Hassim, one of their devices could just as easily be used for tracking a whale as it could be for spying on an entire nation. Because, obviously, there’s zero difference between a marine biologist tagging an orca and the Chinese Communist Party running espionage operations over the U.S.
But don’t worry! Hassim swears that if they ever found out their tech was being misused, they’d “immediately work with partners such as the U.S. government to disable it.”
Well, great job, everyone—because that balloon sure was disabled quickly!
Oh wait—it wasn’t. It traveled across the entire continental U.S., collecting God-knows-what before being shot down off the East Coast.
And here’s the real kicker: U.S. intelligence determined that the balloon was used for spying. But—get this—they don’t believe it successfully relayed information back to China.
Oh, well that’s a relief! It’s not like Beijing would have any other ways of collecting data, right?
This raises some huge questions:
- How the hell did U.S.-made tech end up in a Chinese spy balloon in the first place?
- Who’s selling, reselling, or allowing access to these components?
- How much of our own technology is being used against us—and who’s profiting from it?
Because let’s be honest: This isn’t just about a spy balloon. This is about how compromised our supply chains and national security policies have become. If China can get its hands on high-tech American-made components for surveillance, what else do they have?
Meanwhile, the FBI refuses to comment—because, of course, they do. And the Biden administration? They were so slow to act on the balloon that it had already flown across half the country before they did anything about it.
It’s a joke. A humiliating, dangerous joke.
And if you think this is the only Chinese espionage effort happening right now, think again. This is just the one that got caught.
