The U.S. military is gearing up to launch balloons that will provide high-altitude surveillance to them.
As per NewScientist, this development comes after the country had to scramble fighter jets for shooting down balloons sent from China into the North-American airspace last year.
Mithcell Institue for Aersopace Studies’ Lawrence Stutzriem said that the new tool “uses artificial intelligence to predict and ride wind currents while operating at over 18 kilometers altitudes.”
These high heights make it hard for them to establish proper communication for tracking and engaging, additionally requiring expensive air-to-air missiles for terminating them.
According to Heidi Shyu from the US Department of Defense, the US military is interested in making use of such modern balloons after seeing a demonstration.
They are “cheaper and more disposable than crewed aircraft, drone, or satellites. And also offer a backup option in case of satellite disrupts” through hacking, spoofing, and jamming.
America’s push for upgraded balloons made space after a Chinese balloon was shot drifting across its aerosphere back in 2023.
When government officials inspected the wreckage, they claimed that the equipment included surveillance equipment.
China meanwhile asserted that it was just a weather balloon, but left the US military with an idea of deploying its own spy craft.
