Busting That Chinese Spy Balloon Is Harder Than You Think
Defense And Security,China,US Military,Defense Department,Pentagon,Spying,Surveillance,Chinese Spy Balloons
The Pentagon has been tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon which flew over sensitive areas in Montana in recent days, apparently the latest of several such incursions. President Biden reportedly proposed that the intruder be shot down, but the Pentagon opposed this action, citing the risk of civilian casualties.
In fact, bringing down this type of balloon may be extremely difficult, as it is likely to be highly resistant to the available weapons. It may look fragile, but the sheer size and construction of a stratospheric balloon makes it all but invulnerable.
There is also the problem of getting to it. Such balloons ride high in the stratosphere, far above the airliners. They do this to take advantage of the change in wind direction with altitude to steer themselves to where they are needed like sailing ships, then circling above a point of interest. The U.S. military has its own stratospheric spy balloon program with project like COLD STAR – short for COvert Long Dwell STratospheric ARchitecture, designed to lurk undetected in enemy airspace.
.png.webp)
