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Written by Cyber Threat Intelligence Unit on 7 February 2023

Balloon News

If stratospheric balloons are nothing new, a step has just been taken in the great game of espionage and high altitude surveillance. While satellites and spy planes fly over most of the so-called zones of interest for the benefit of the intelligence services of the countries that have them, these multi-sensor balloons are a seemingly harmless and less secret way of gleaning information.

Under the guise of a scientific research mission to collect data, these balloons for dual use (civilian and military) are high-tech products of the aerospace industry called "zero pressure ultra-long duration". Packed with technology, they communicate the complex data collected and navigate using artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning that predicts wind directions and fuses sensor data in real time. Balloons can rise above the range of most aircraft and their slow speed means they are not always detected by radar. Most radars detect aircraft at a height of 10 km, while these balloons operate at 20 km altitude. Additional technology or special paint can help to further conceal them, making them difficult to detect. These balloons can thus serve as communication and data link nodes, intelligence or signal interception platforms, tracking air and missile threats, or even various weapons. Finally, their use is less controversial than that of the very expensive HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) drones. According to Atlantico magazine, the Pentagon is conducting demonstrations to evaluate how to integrate high-altitude balloons and commercial satellites into an attack, known as a "killchain".

Their use is also explained by low cost, rapid deployment that does not require space launchers or constant technical support. It complements the vision of satellites since these balloons can remain stationary for a long time, their altitude allows to obtain images and data cheaper and sometimes of better quality. Balloons have the advantage of being energy efficient, more maneuverable and less predictable. Operating in the upper stratosphere, these wind-driven balloons navigate by rising and falling to find the winds blowing in the direction they want to go. The balloon shot down on Saturday, February 4, 2023 by the U.S. defense came from China, carried along the jetstream over the Pacific Ocean before crossing the United States of America from West to East for a week.

If these spy balloons are in fact not so unusual since many nations (e.g. Israel) already use them, Chinese balloons have been spotted over the U.S. territory several times in recent years. The one currently flying over Latin America should have a less disastrous fate if we consider the military capabilities of the countries crossed and the past failures of nations like Canada and Great Britain to succeed in destroying them at high altitude.

Whether it is by the technology implicitly exposed to the public or a destruction not less public, these balloons have become a real issue of affirmation of sovereignty and power.

Cyber Threat Intelligence Unit

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