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Factbox: High-altitude spy balloons: old concept, new applications
https://www.reuters.com/world/high-altitude-spy-balloons-old-concept-new-applications-2023-02-03/2 minute read
February 2, 2023 9:30 PM EST Last Updated 7 hours ago
Factbox: High-altitude spy balloons: old concept, new applications
Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. officials said on Thursday that a Chinese "surveillance balloon" has been flying over the United States for several days.
Using high-altitude balloons for spying and other military missions is a practice that dates to the middle of the last century. Here is what is known about how they operate and what they can be used for:
[...]
* Just after World War 2, the U.S. military started exploring the use of high-altitude spy balloons, which led to a large-scale series of missions called Project Genetrix. The project flew photographic balloons over Soviet bloc territory in the 1950s, according to government documents.
* Such balloons typically operate at 80,000-120,000 feet (24,000-37,000m), well above where commercial air traffic flies - airliners almost never fly higher than 40,000 feet. The highest-performing fighter aircraft typically do not operate above 65,000 feet, although spy planes such as the U-2 have a service ceiling of 80,000 feet or more.
* The advantages of balloons over satellites include the ability to scan wide swathes of territory from closer in, and to be able to spend more time over a target area, according to a 2009 report to the U.S. Air Force's Air Command and Staff College.
[...]
February 2, 2023 9:30 PM EST Last Updated 7 hours ago
Factbox: High-altitude spy balloons: old concept, new applications
Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. officials said on Thursday that a Chinese "surveillance balloon" has been flying over the United States for several days.
Using high-altitude balloons for spying and other military missions is a practice that dates to the middle of the last century. Here is what is known about how they operate and what they can be used for:
[...]
* Just after World War 2, the U.S. military started exploring the use of high-altitude spy balloons, which led to a large-scale series of missions called Project Genetrix. The project flew photographic balloons over Soviet bloc territory in the 1950s, according to government documents.
* Such balloons typically operate at 80,000-120,000 feet (24,000-37,000m), well above where commercial air traffic flies - airliners almost never fly higher than 40,000 feet. The highest-performing fighter aircraft typically do not operate above 65,000 feet, although spy planes such as the U-2 have a service ceiling of 80,000 feet or more.
* The advantages of balloons over satellites include the ability to scan wide swathes of territory from closer in, and to be able to spend more time over a target area, according to a 2009 report to the U.S. Air Force's Air Command and Staff College.
[...]
