U.S. sanctions six Chinese tech companies for supporting spy balloon programs A new round of U.S. sanctions will target six Chinese aerospace companies identified as supporting the nation’s military’s reconnaissance balloon program, the Commerce Department announced Friday. The sanctions were imposed just hours after an American military F-22 shot down the second “high altitude object” to enter U.S. airspace in the past week. The firms will join a growing list of companies based in China that the U.S. says pose serious threats to national security.