Are Balloons Effective Tools for Spying?
2023-02-16
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1Last week, the United States said a balloon shot down by the U.S. military was part of a major international spying operation led by China.
2The balloon was shot down February 4 over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.
3By that time, the balloon had moved across the United States.
4During its trip, the balloon was observed flying over several Air Force Bases, including one in Montana that stores U.S. nuclear weapons.
5U.S. officials have repeatedly stated they believe China purposefully flew the balloon into U.S. airspace and that the airship had the ability to carry out spying activities.
6China has said the balloon was an unmanned weather airship that got blown off its path by wind and ended up going into American airspace.
7Chinese officials have accused the U.S. of overreacting by shooting the balloon down with a missile fired from an F-22 fighter plane.
8Since the downing of that balloon, U.S. military jets have also shot down three other unidentified objects found moving across American and Canadian territory.
9National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week that while those three objects were not confirmed to be spy balloons, the U.S. "couldn't rule out" that possibility.
10Kirby added that the U.S. decided to take out the three other high-flying objects "out of an abundance of caution" because they might have presented a risk to civilian planes in the area.
11U.S. officials have suggested that such balloons have "limited additive capabilities" compared to China's other intelligence gathering programs.
12So how effective are air balloons at carrying out spying activities? Experts say such efforts might seem low-tech compared to satellites and other intelligence-gathering methods.
13But they can be useful instruments if they are equipped with the right technology tools.
14Historically, high-flying balloons have often been used for spying and military activities.
15During World War II, Japan's military dropped bombs into U.S. territory using balloons designed to float in jet stream air currents.
16No military targets were damaged by the balloons.
17But several civilians were killed when one of the balloons crashed in a forest in the northwestern state of Oregon.
18Just after World War II, the U.S. military started exploring the use of deployed spy balloons.
19This led to a series of operations called Project Genetrix.
20U.S. government documents suggest the project flew photographic balloons over Soviet Union-supported territory in the 1950s.
21Spy balloons generally operate at 24,000-37,000 meters, well above where civilian air traffic flies. Passenger airliners rarely fly higher than 12,000 meters.
22A 2009 report to the U.S. Air Force's Air Command and Staff College said one advantage of balloons over satellites is the ability to observe wide areas of territory at closer distances.
23Balloons are also able to spend a longer time over target areas, the report said.
24Experts have also noted that balloons do not cost a lot of money to deploy.
25Satellites, on the other hand, require complex space launch systems that can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
26William Kim is an expert in intelligence balloons at the Marathon Initiative policy center in Washington D.C.
27He told the French news agency AFP that balloons are valuable observation tools that are difficult to shoot down.
28Kim said the Chinese balloon shot down by the U.S. was likely a normal weather balloon with some added technology.
29Images of the balloon showed that it was solar powered and appeared to have electronics, guidance and data collecting abilities, he added.
30Kim said he believes the balloon was powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
31This would enable it to guide itself based on air changes in the atmosphere.
32"Before you either had to have a tether... or you just send it up and it just goes wherever the wind takes it," Kim said.
33Another possible advantage of balloons over satellites is that they are difficult to find with traditional radar equipment.
34"These are materials that don't reflect, they're not metal," Kim said.
35"So even though these balloons expand to quite large, detecting... the balloon itself is going to be a problem," he added.
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Last week, the United States said a balloon shot down by the U.S. military was part of a major international spying operation led by China. 2The balloon was shot down February 4 over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. By that time, the balloon had moved across the United States. During its trip, the balloon was observed flying over several Air Force Bases, including one in Montana that stores U.S. nuclear weapons. 3U.S. officials have repeatedly stated they believe China purposefully flew the balloon into U.S. airspace and that the airship had the ability to carry out spying activities. 4China has said the balloon was an unmanned weather airship that got blown off its path by wind and ended up going into American airspace. Chinese officials have accused the U.S. of overreacting by shooting the balloon down with a missile fired from an F-22 fighter plane. 5Since the downing of that balloon, U.S. military jets have also shot down three other unidentified objects found moving across American and Canadian territory. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week that while those three objects were not confirmed to be spy balloons, the U.S. "couldn't rule out" that possibility. 6Kirby added that the U.S. decided to take out the three other high-flying objects "out of an abundance of caution" because they might have presented a risk to civilian planes in the area. 7U.S. officials have suggested that such balloons have "limited additive capabilities" compared to China's other intelligence gathering programs. 8So how effective are air balloons at carrying out spying activities? Experts say such efforts might seem low-tech compared to satellites and other intelligence-gathering methods. But they can be useful instruments if they are equipped with the right technology tools. 9History of spy balloons 10Historically, high-flying balloons have often been used for spying and military activities. 11During World War II, Japan's military dropped bombs into U.S. territory using balloons designed to float in jet stream air currents. No military targets were damaged by the balloons. But several civilians were killed when one of the balloons crashed in a forest in the northwestern state of Oregon. 12Just after World War II, the U.S. military started exploring the use of deployed spy balloons. This led to a series of operations called Project Genetrix. U.S. government documents suggest the project flew photographic balloons over Soviet Union-supported territory in the 1950s. 13How high do they fly? 14Spy balloons generally operate at 24,000-37,000 meters, well above where civilian air traffic flies. Passenger airliners rarely fly higher than 12,000 meters. 15Balloons vs. satellites 16A 2009 report to the U.S. Air Force's Air Command and Staff College said one advantage of balloons over satellites is the ability to observe wide areas of territory at closer distances. Balloons are also able to spend a longer time over target areas, the report said. 17Experts have also noted that balloons do not cost a lot of money to deploy. Satellites, on the other hand, require complex space launch systems that can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. 18AI powered? 19William Kim is an expert in intelligence balloons at the Marathon Initiative policy center in Washington D.C. He told the French news agency AFP that balloons are valuable observation tools that are difficult to shoot down. 20Kim said the Chinese balloon shot down by the U.S. was likely a normal weather balloon with some added technology. Images of the balloon showed that it was solar powered and appeared to have electronics, guidance and data collecting abilities, he added. 21Kim said he believes the balloon was powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This would enable it to guide itself based on air changes in the atmosphere. "Before you either had to have a tether... or you just send it up and it just goes wherever the wind takes it," Kim said. 22Another possible advantage of balloons over satellites is that they are difficult to find with traditional radar equipment. "These are materials that don't reflect, they're not metal," Kim said. "So even though these balloons expand to quite large, detecting... the balloon itself is going to be a problem," he added. 23I'm Bryan Lynn. 24Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse. 25_________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27an abundance of caution - n. the fact that someone is being extremely careful to avoid a particular risk 28capability - n. the ability to do something 29advantage - n. condition that gives a greater chance of success 30artificial intelligence - n. the development of computer systems that have the ability to perform work that normally requires human intelligence 31tether - v. to tie something to a fixed place 32reflect - v. to throw back something (heat, light or sound) without absorbing it 33detect - v. to find something that is partly hidden or not clear 34_____________________________________________________________________ 35What do you think of this story? 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