A new report reveals that the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast in February 2023 contained technology from at least five US companies. This discovery raises concerns about commercially available technology falling into the hands of adversaries.

Analysis of the balloon's wreckage uncovered a range of sophisticated surveillance equipment, including a satellite communication module, various sensors, and other advanced tech, some of which was surprisingly housed in a standard foam cooler. Newsweek broke the story, citing sources with direct knowledge of the military's technical assessment.

The balloon's cross-country journey from Alaska to the East Coast before being downed over the Atlantic Ocean fueled international tensions. While China insisted it was a weather balloon, US intelligence agencies confirmed its surveillance purpose. However, it's believed that the balloon failed to transmit any collected data back to Beijing.

One key piece of US technology identified was an Iridium 9602 short burst messaging module, manufactured by Virginia-based Iridium, a global satellite communications provider. Iridium stated it doesn't condone the misuse of its products and emphasized the difficulty in tracking the ultimate application of their modules, which could be used for anything from wildlife tracking to mountaineering expeditions. The company assured that if misuse is detected, they would collaborate with authorities, including the US government, to disable the device.

Other American companies whose components were reportedly found within the balloon's payload include Texas Instruments, Omega Engineering, Amphenol All Sensors Corp., and Onsemi. Equipment from the Swiss company STMicroelectronics was also identified. The presence of this technology underscores the challenges of preventing commercially available technology from being repurposed for potentially hostile applications.

The FBI declined to comment on the report.