What is the mysterious balloon that hovered over the USA? We know what China can use it for

A balloon that, according to reports, belongs to China is moving over American territory. He was last seen in Montana, where he was supposed to arrive from Canada. The US and its neighbor to the north are watching the balloon but have not decided to shoot it down. Both countries add that the facility poses no threat to residents.

What is a Chinese balloon and how high is it?

But what exactly is the mysterious balloon that the media around the world are talking about right now? It is already known (at least unofficially) that we are dealing with a spy balloon, i.e. observing important ground infrastructure from a considerable height. what? This has not yet been said. The Americans report that the balloon is definitely above the cruising altitude of cruise aircraft, which is usually a maximum of 12 km.

Most likely, the mysterious object is a stratospheric balloon, i.e. a balloon floating in the stratosphere at an altitude of at least several kilometers (from about 18 to 38 km). Nowadays, such balloons have access to the GPS system, thanks to which they can precisely determine their location, are equipped with high-resolution cameras for scanning the Earth’s surface and systems for satellite communication with the base.

Former Colonel and military analyst Cedric Leighton admitted that over US territory, the balloon could collect intelligence on telecommunications and radio signals and government command systems. As the expert adds, ballistic missile silos are located in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, which can be an interesting object for the Chinese to observe. There is also a strategic air base in the latter state.

Leighton adds that the mysterious spy balloon “could certainly be a system capable of collecting a lot of data.” He also admitted that the balloon could also have been sent to fill in missing intelligence that the Chinese were unable to obtain by other means, such as through spy satellites.

Why would the Chinese send a spy balloon over the US?

The history of the use of balloons (initially observation, not spy) by the army dates back to the end of the eighteenth century, when the French began to test them. They began to be used on a large scale in the 20th century (there were even balloon troops in the Second Polish Republic), and the USA began to use balloons en masse during the Cold War. Later, in the age of satellites, the use of balloons for spying began to fall out of fashion.

With the progressive miniaturization of electronics and the development of anti-satellite defense systems, balloons seem to be making a comeback. As CNN writes, huge technological progress has meant that balloons can now be unpacked with very modern spy tools, providing a lot of information. And in relation to satellites, they have – especially in recent years – a lot of advantages.

Sending a spy balloon is, above all, incomparably cheaper than launching a military satellite into orbit. Balloons are also smaller, easier to transport and can be shipped much faster and more discreetly. Moreover, they are not as predictable as space satellites that follow predetermined orbits.

In addition, according to Blake Herzinger, an expert on defense policy in the Indo-Pacific, modern balloons can be – to some extent – controlled by computers. Using the direction and strength of the wind at different altitudes, they can rise and fall to get over or at least close to their target. This is not possible with satellites.

According to John Blaxland, a national security expert at , the US currently uses spy balloons, but “they tend to only use them over US territory.” Entering a balloon over the territory of another country without the appropriate permission from the authorities will usually not be received positively.

Is this a Chinese balloon hanging over the US? China won’t admit it

It is worth adding that there is still no certainty what exactly the mysterious balloon is and who it belongs to. It is also unknown whether he was sent to Montana on purpose or he ended up there by accident. For now, you can only rely on unofficial messages and reports. A senior US Pentagon official says the US has “very strong belief” that it is a Chinese balloon and that it “flew over important locations to gather information” –

The capabilities of this particular balloon are also unknown at this time. according to some experts, it is only a signal and not a threat to the USA. It is possible that despite the prospects for improving relations between the US and China (Antony Blinken’s visit to China), Beijing only wants to show the Americans that it is always ready to compete with Washington.

The position of China definitely does not help in solving the mystery. The local authorities do not confirm or deny the reports that the balloon belongs to them. They argue that judgments must be refrained from “before a clear understanding of the facts” and that they do not intend to encroach on the territory of any sovereign country.