The latest weapon of the American army against China and Russia — inflatable balloons
The US is developing a plan to combat Russian and Chinese hypersound. According to Politico, it is based on balloons that will complement the work of satellites and will track the movements of hypersonic missiles.
The Pentagon quietly transfers projects to create high-altitude balloons to the armed forces.
The Pentagon is developing a new plan, wanting advantages over China and Russia. To do this, he needs balloons.
High-altitude inflatable aircraft moving in the air at an altitude of 18 to 27 kilometers will be included in an extensive military surveillance network, and over time they can be used to track hypersonic weapons.
It may seem that this is an idea from the field of science fiction, but the Pentagon's financial documents indicate that these developments are gradually moving from the scientific circles of the military department to the armed forces.
"High—altitude and ultra-high-altitude platforms have many advantages due to the length of stay on combat duty, maneuverability and the ability to carry a variety of payloads," said Tom Karako, senior researcher at the International Security Program, who also works as director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Pentagon continues to invest in these projects because the military can use balloons and balloons to perform various tasks.
Over the past two years, the military department has spent about $3.8 million on such projects. And in the 2023 fiscal year, it plans to spend $ 27.1 million to continue work in various areas, as evidenced by budget documents.
In addition, the Pentagon is developing its own hypersonic weapons program, despite the fact that the next tests conducted on Wednesday ended in failure.
A positive aspect for the United States is the fact that balloons will be able to track and deter hypersonic systems being developed in China and Russia.
In August, China surprised the Pentagon by testing a hypersonic missile capable of carrying a nuclear charge. She failed to hit the target, falling from it at a distance of about 38 kilometers.
When the United States withdrew from the ABM Treaty in 2002, Russia accelerated the development of its own hypersonic weapons. Her Government said it launched a hypersonic missile in March during a missile strike on Ukraine. This was the first case of combat use of such weapons.
And it is here that balloons can benefit, strengthening the expensive satellite grouping that monitors missiles. Drop-shaped balloons collect numerous complex data and move using artificial intelligence algorithms.
Hiding in plain sight
The Ministry of Defense has been conducting tests for several years using high-altitude balloons and solar-powered drones to collect data, provide communications for ground forces and solve problems with satellites. The Pentagon imperceptibly transfers projects to create high-altitude balloons to the armed forces, so that they collect data and transmit information to aviation. Politico learned about this after studying the budget justifications of the Ministry of Defense.
In 2019, the United States wrote a lot about the existence of a program called "Covert Long-Term Stratospheric Architecture" (Covert Long-Dwell Stratospheric Architecture, COLD STAR), which was originally created to track drug supply channels. At that time, the Pentagon conducted 25 test launches of surveillance balloons in the state of South Dakota as part of a demonstration.
The Pentagon told Politico that the COLD STAR program has been transferred to the military. The Ministry of Defense declined to provide any details about this program for reasons of secrecy.
Another initiative aims to link all the equipment together. The Pentagon is conducting tests to understand how to combine high-altitude balloons and commercial satellites into one combat chain.
"They [balloons] can be used in any number of systems, be it communication and data transmission nodes, reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition systems, tracking networks for aerial targets and missile threats, and even for various types of weapons. And all this without the use of satellites that move in predictable orbits," Karako said.
The Ministry of Defense also intends to use drones with a "stratospheric payload" together with balloons to monitor moving ground targets, provide communications and intercept electronic signals. The idea is to transfer these systems to the ground forces and the American Special Operations Command, as evidenced by budget documents.
Finding new ways to detect ground targets is a priority for the Pentagon as the Air Force decommissions its aerial surveillance aircraft.
Not some ordinary balloon
The company Raven Aerostar, which is a division of Raven Industries, is engaged in the production of balloons. The company stated that they have a flight control unit on batteries recharged from solar panels. There is also a set of electronics responsible for flight safety, navigation and communication. This was announced during an interview by Raven Aerostar Technical director Russell Van Der Werff (Russell Van Der Werff).
The air flows allow the balloon to follow the required course. The developer company moves the balloon to the target area using different wind speeds and directions.
But that's not all. Raven Aerostar uses its own machine learning algorithm that predicts courses and synthesizes data coming from detection devices in real time, Van Der Werff said. This company also uses a special program for piloting and monitoring its balloon fleet and has a control center where trained flight engineers work around the clock and seven days a week.
The balloon is able to complement the work carried out by conventional aircraft and satellites. In addition, balloons launched into the stratosphere are very cheap, and are manufactured very quickly. For example, to launch balloons for weeks and months, you need several hundred thousand dollars. Millions or tens of millions will be needed to launch and operate aircraft or satellites.
Not for the first time
NASA began launching helium-filled stratostats back in the 1950s, and the ground forces have recently been experimenting with such devices at lower altitudes.
The private sector is also investing in the balloon market. Alphabet launched balloons into the sky in 2017 to provide mobile communications in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
In the mid-2010s, the ground forces carried out a program to create reconnaissance balloons, which was canceled in 2017. This program was called the Combined Arms Network System of Early Warning Sensors about a Missile Attack (JLENS).
Unlike the high-altitude ones, these were tethered balloons. They were designed to detect boats, ground vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles. Now the Ministry of Defense uses lighter, smaller balloons that rise significantly higher than the JLENS reconnaissance systems.
Since 2015, the ground forces have been conducting exercises for three years to decide whether to continue purchasing JLENS balloons from Raytheon. But one such balloon broke away from the mooring post in the Baltimore area, flew in the sky for three hours, and eventually landed on the ground near the town of Moreland Township in Pennsylvania.
The military decided to abandon this program. Almost two billion dollars were spent on the development of JLENS, and these balloons were planned to be used in the interests of the US Central Command.
"If we can take this in an adult way and put our fears about JLENS out of our heads, airships, balloons and balloons will have a bright future," said Karako.
Author: Lee Hudson
