According to NBC News, a Chinese spy balloon was able to capture intelligence from multiple US military sites and transmit back to Beijing in real time. The balloon crossed into US airspace over Alaska in late January 2023 and was eventually shot down by the US in February 2023 off the East Coast. Sources indicate that the balloon collected mostly electronic signals from weapons systems and communications from base personnel as opposed to images. While the intelligence community is not overly concerned, it remains unclear whether the Chinese government was able to wipe the balloon's data as it received it, raising questions about potential intelligence that the US still doesn't know about. The FBI is still examining the balloon, and officials have gained insight into how the device worked, including the algorithms for its software and how it was powered and designed. The balloon incident further escalated tensions between Washington and Beijing and even prompted the US Secretary of State to postpone a diplomatic visit to China.