too, love the charts. i like we're getting them twice a week. we want steve to stick around to talk about china here. we're learning more about the surveillance balloon shot off the coast of south carolina saturday. according to a senior state department official, the balloon was fitted with multiple antennas capable of collecting signals intelligence. the balloon was described by the official as carrying equipment designed to carry communications. china insisted it was a weather balloon. the equipment was described as inconsistent as to what is typically aboard a weather balloon. yesterday, the house approved a resolution, condemning china's use of the balloon, calling it a, quote, brazen violation of united states sovereignty. that vote following briefings given to the full house and senate earlier in the day. during a senate appropriations defense subcommittee hearing on the balloon, senator jon tester of montana was frustrated during his questioning of witnesses.
let me say it again, sandra. happy friday. >> sandra: happy to make it to friday with you, john, details, the american public are going to want to hear. according to the state department, the airship was listening to americans conducting what is called signals intelligence as it floated over the united states. authorities say the craft had multiple antennas to intercept electronic communications and solar panels fueled its sensors to gather all that information, including conversations that were being had on the ground, john. >> john: meanwhile, the fbi releasing new images of the ongoing salvage operation, it could take up to two weeks to finish with much of the spy equipment still underwater. bryan llenas is live in myrtle beach, south carolina, off the shore, where recovery efforts continue. you won't be out there much longer, the weather is about to
how small these pieces are as they're searching for this. in part due to imagery from spy planes on the spy balloon, they were able to determine multiple antennas were there to collect signal intelligence and geolocaing communications. they really only started getting pieces of evidence in their hands on monday. this is ocean water we're talking about. salt water is corrosive, so it has to be decontaminated before they're able to study it, and the fbi has said the most important parts of what they need -- this is the payload, that remains under water. so far everything they've recovered, when you look at the images on the side of your screen there, that is the outside of the balloon. most of that was already on the surface. that was much easier to collect than what we imagined to be the much smaller parts here and again, the most important parts that will not only determine what exactly this was capable
say when he spoke to telemundo on thursday. >> it's not a breach. look, it's totally, it's a violation of international law, it's our air space, and once it comes in our air space we can do what we want with it. >> officials have learned a lot about the spycraft in recent days. size of a regional jet and multiple antennas capable of collecting sensitive communications. the white house seems like it's eager to move on, lawmakers keeping it front and center. the house voting, approving a resolution to condemn china's action. the chinese believes congress is dramatizing the whole thing. and see if the white house may have new reaction of the classified documents found in the president's wilmington home and here in d.c., in wisconsin on wednesday he sat down with pbs, and said some documents date back to the 1970s and it's
pentagon, president biden orders the military to down the object and they did and it came inside our territorial waters and those waters right now are frozen. but inside territorial air space and over territorial waters. fighter aircraft assigned to u.s. northern command took down the object within last hour. >> there that was john kirby on the news that broke this afternoon that a second high-altitude object has now been shot down over u.s. territory. as you heard him say earlier today. kirby said that the object was the size of a small car. but it is not clear where it came from or what its capabilities are. the news of today's shootdown comes days after a chinese spy balloon was taken down after it flew off the coast of south carolina. chinese officials are continued to maintain that it was a weather balloon. but today u.s. officials confirmed it contained antennas and other equipment used for intelligence-gathering purposes. let's bring into our coverage
capturing high resolution images of the technology on board, including multiple antennas that a senior state department official describes as capable of collecting signals intelligence from cellphones or radiofrequencies. the president says it was not a major security breach. >> the total amount of intelligence gathering that's going on by every country around the world is overwhelming. the idea that a balloon could traverse -- break american airspace is -- anyway, it's not a major breach. look, it's totally -- it's a violation of international law. it's our airspace. >> joining us now is dan dalue. let's start with the images that show multiple antennas. what could china learn from these transmissions?
former u.s. ambassador to china and former six-term democratic senator from montana. dan, we just got new details from the state department on china's spy balloon program. what can you tell us? >> that's right. a senior state department official is saying that spy planes captured high resolution photos of this balloon and it had the ability to conduct signals intelligence, ie to eavesdrop on radio signals on the ground and it had multiple antennas that could geolocate communications, and it also had solar panels that were able to generate enough electricity to power that spying equipment. they're also saying that these balloons are part of a chinese military operation and that a company in china that manufactures the balloons is essentially part of the chinese defense industry and regularly supplies equipment to the chinese military. and also, there is indications also from the state department they're going to share more
i believe in miracles because i've seen them happen. in the mexican earthquake of 1985, they were finding little kids buried under rubble 11 and 16 days after those earthquakes. but it's just with every passing minute it's more and more difficult. if you can check it out on twitter, there's places that you can help. here at home we're getting brand new information about china's surveillance balloon fleet, a senior state department official says the equivalent and the equipment on board the balloon that flew over the u.s. before being shot down is specifically for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with equipment onboard weather balloons. the balloon also had multiple antennas. it was equipped with solar panels large enough to produce the power needed to operate multiple intelligence collection sensors. this comes as the controversy surrounding the balloon is taking center stage right there on capitol hill. next hour, administration
about republicans looking into his corrupt son hunter. >> the public isn't going to pay attention to that, they want these guys to do something. the only thing they could do is make up things about my family, it's not going to go very far. >> jeanine: but in reality there is bipartisan support to look into the slimy first sodden. 61% support an investigation. then there's that giant chinese spy balloon we just learned some startling new details. the spy craft contained multiple antennas that were capable of collecting communications. but apparently biden thinks it's no harm, no foul. >> have relations now between the u.s. and china taken a big hit >> no. no. >> how do you know? >> i know, i talked to them.
but even still as we have seen a few briefings and hearings this morning and then of course the full senate will get their briefing about half an hour or so from now, the house was, of course, briefed in a classified fashion this morning, there is still some concern that they're not getting the information that they want, specifically senator jon tester of montana, one of the people who called this hearing, said they want more information about what this balloon was actually trying to gather over the u.s., and that's not information that they seem to be getting readily from the administration right now. in terms of what we're going to see from the house, though, likely bipartisan resolution condemning china for flying this balloon over the united states, not surprising this has been bubbling for about the past week, but it is a reminder that while there is so much disagreement and bipartisanship, it is pretty hard to find around here, this is one of those points of commonality between democrats and republicans and we'll see it on display in about 20 minutes or so. >> ambassador, this new information that dan was just reporting on, these solar panels, these multiple antennas