During a news briefing on Thursday, senior FBI officials detailed the Bureau’s role as the lead governing agency for the forensic examination of the Chinese high-altitude balloon identified and shot down February 5 by the U.S. military off the coast of South Carolina.
The Operational Technology Division and the Laboratory Division are working closely with subject matter experts from the Department of Defense—including the Naval Criminal Investigative Service—and other government agencies.
Additionally, personnel from the FBI’s Washington, Columbia, Charlotte, and Norfolk field offices have deployed personnel, including ERT- and USERT-trained agents, to assist with the logistics of the recovery and analysis of the debris.
Michael Paul, assistant director of the Operational and Technology Division (OTD), and Eric Pokorak, assistant director of the Laboratory Division, said it is too early in the investigation to determine the intent and capabilities of the balloon.
Pokorak said much of the evidence remains underwater and that the FBI is coordinating further searches with the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Dive teams from the FBI and U.S. Navy are working together.
“We were on-scene late Sunday, on February 5, and the first evidence that was received was transported to Quantico and received late Monday, February 6,” he explained. Pokorak described the search area as a “large-scale scene” and said weather concerns in the next few days “may impact” evidence collection and the transportation of recovered items.
Once the evidence is received at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, a team of experts engages in a decontamination process, Pokorak continued. “In simple terms, that is removing the salt water from the evidence itself. Rinsing and washing it so that it can be further processed.”
The evidence recovered so far has been limited to surface findings, including the balloon (or canopy itself) some wiring, a tiny amount of electronics—but only a small portion of the payload.
“We have not seen the payload where we expect to see the lion’s share of the electronics,” said Paul. “OTD deployed specialists to assist with screening and to specifically assess electronic components that might be recovered during the operation.”
Top: FBI subject matter experts prepare to board the USS Carter Hull to conduct search and recovery operations in collaboration with the U.S. Navy.
He said this investigation marks the first time the FBI Laboratory and OTD have responded to a “hot air balloon of this nature” and the processing of the corresponding scene. Paul said no “energetic or offensive material” has been detected but emphasized much of the evidence has yet to be recovered.
Asked about the manufacturer of the balloon or whether its design was based on stolen intelligence, Paul said the FBI is not in position “at this point to have that information.”
IN GOD WE TRUST
Clever Journeys 
So dear Jack, was that a ‘clever journey’ ?
LikeLike