Surveillance Balloon

• Tensions between the United States and China were raised after a high-altitude balloon from China invaded American airspace.

• A Chinese surveillance balloon that had been seen over US airspace for a few days was shot down by the US.

About surveillance or spy balloon:

• Military uses for spy balloons were already common. Balloons were employed to provide a bird's eye perspective of the battlefield during the French Revolutionary Wars in the late 18th century, with evidence of their employment at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794.

• Prior to the Great War, big-picture reconnaissance was mostly conducted by balloons, which gave a perspective on enemy positions and movements that was inconceivable from the ground.
• Spy balloons can observe from lower altitudes than satellites, which can only observe from higher altitudes.
• The US military began investigating the use of high-altitude espionage balloons after World War II, which resulted in a massive series of operations known as Project Genet.
• This kind of low-cost, stealthy, and difficult-to-reach balloon has been utilized for surveillance during wars like the American Civil War.
• When the US launched hundreds of balloons to gather intelligence on the Soviet Union and China during the Cold War, the method gained widespread use during World War I.
• Many nations still deploy surveillance balloons, though their use has decreased as unmanned drones and satellites have become more common.

How relevant are high-altitude balloons today?

• High-altitude balloons still have a significant role to play in the military, despite the fact that satellites, better plane, and drone technologies have diminished their use.

• High-altitude balloons are less expensive, simpler to launch, and easier to manage than satellites, which can cost millions of dollars to build and launch.
• Even though they cannot be directly steered, balloons can be generally directed to a desired area by altering altitude to capture different wind currents.
• Furthermore, spy balloons have the benefit of being able to float around at lower altitudes, unlike satellites, which are at much higher altitudes and travel at great speeds, allowing better image quality and more time to gather intelligence in a specific area.

Why do Governments employ surveillance balloons for?

• Monitoring at a Closer Range: In the age of satellites, surveillance balloons, which are often sophisticated balloons outfitted with cutting-edge, downward-pointing imaging equipment, provide monitoring at a Closer Range.

• Image clarity: Compared to the lowest orbiting satellites, the lower-flying balloons, which hover at an altitude similar to that of commercial aircraft, can often capture crisper photographs.
• Due to their further orbit, satellites that spin in unison with the Earth continuously record images that are fuzzier.
• Intercepting Communications: In addition to "collecting electronic signals," surveillance balloons may also be able to intercept communications.

What other surveillance methods are there?

• Electronic surveillance: This includes listening in on phone calls, intercepting communication signals, and keeping an eye on emails and other digital correspondence.

• HUMINT (human intelligence): Recruiting people having access to sensitive information, such as diplomatic workers, military personnel, or government officials, is one of the key elements employed in surveillance.
• Internet espionage: It is a type of cyber-attack that uses stolen intellectual property or sensitive, confidential data to gain an advantage over rival businesses or governmental organizations.
• Satellite imagery: Information about foreign nations is occasionally gathered using satellites.

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