Pentagon: Cannot confirm any Chinese balloon real-time data transfer

The Pentagon on Monday said it could not confirm reports that a Chinese spy balloon was able to transmit intelligence in real time back to China as it flew over sensitive military sites in the United States earlier this year, adding that U.S. analysis was still ongoing.

"I could not confirm that there was real-time transmission from the balloon back to (China) at this time," said Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh, adding, "that's something we're analyzing right now."

NBC News on Monday reported that the Chinese balloon that was able to gather intelligence from several U.S. military sites and transmit it back to Beijing in real time despite the Biden administration's efforts to prevent it from doing so.