Chinese balloon was likely capable of collecting communications, U.S. says

The suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the U.S. last week before it was shot down was capable of collecting communications, a State Department spokesperson said Thursday.

Why it matters: The balloon was furnished with "multiple antennas" and other equipment that was "clearly for intelligence surveillance," the spokesperson said.

Details: The antennas in an array were "likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications," the spokesperson said.

It also had solar panels big enough to produce sufficient power to "operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors."

China has flown similar surveillance balloons over more than 40 countries across five continents...