Two years after the US authorities shot down a 200-foot-tall Chinese spy balloon, a shocking revelation had emerged regarding the technology loaded in the craft. Surprisingly, it was packed with US-made technology, says a report.

The craft, which travelled from Alaska in January 2023 and passed over Canada before re-entering the US Midwest, was shot down off the coast of South Carolina by an F-22 Raptor on February 4, 2023.

The Chinese balloon that sparked panic when it flew over the US two years ago was, as long suspected, set up to spy on Americans — but surprisingly with US-made technology, according to a new report.

The 200-foot-tall balloon was loaded with a satellite communication module, sensors and other technology from at least five American firms, two sources with direct knowledge of a classified US military report told Newsweek.

A Chinese spy balloon that crossed over the United States in 2023 was packed with American technology that could have enabled it to spy on Americans, according to two sources with direct knowledge of a technical analysis conducted by the U.S. military.

The U.S. is tracking a high-altitude balloon flying over the Western part of the country, U.S. officials told CBS News. Military aircraft have spotted the balloon and determined it is not a threat, but its origin and purpose are still unknown, the officials said.

Sources familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the balloon was drifting east in the jetstream on Friday. Earlier in the day, one official said the balloon was over Colorado. Its presence prompted enough concern that the military sent aircraft to investigate.

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Friday that a Chinese weather balloon had crossed the Taiwan Strait median line on Thursday, about a month before Taiwan's presidential election.

"Our initial understanding is that it was a sounding balloon," Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters at parliament.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, frequently accuses Beijing of seeking to exert military or economic pressure to sway its elections toward outcomes favourable to the Chinese government.

The Chinese spy balloon that floated over the U.S. early this year was loaded with American-made equipment that helped it collect photos, videos and other information, U.S. officials said, citing preliminary findings from a closely held investigation.

The Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean in early February was built -- at least partly -- using American off-the-shelf parts, a U.S. official has confirmed to ABC News.

A second U.S. official was also able to confirm that the balloon did not appear to have transmitted any of the data it collected on its journey above North America, as was initially reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The Chinese balloon that drifted across the United States and precipitated a slew of national security concerns regarding the Asian superpower reportedly used American technology to spy on U.S. citizens.

The American-made equipment helped China capture photos, videos, and other information, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited officials involved in the preliminary investigation into the balloon's origin and purpose.

New evidence of China's spy balloon programme - including flights over Japan and Taiwan - has been uncovered by BBC Panorama.

Japan has confirmed balloons have flown over its territory and said it's prepared to shoot them down in future.

China has not directly addressed the evidence presented by the BBC.

President Biden on Tuesday night called President Xi Jinping of China a “dictator” who had been kept in the dark by his own government about the spy balloon that crossed into United States airspace this winter before being shot down by an American fighter jet.

At a campaign fund-raiser in California, Mr. Biden set off into what appeared to be an unplanned riff about the incident that ruptured relations with China for months, revealing what United States intelligence agencies had learned about the internal confusion in Beijing during the incident.