Balloons were already used for espionage In the American Civil War (you transfer to another service) 160 years ago. Would tech superpower China use a balloon to spy on the US?
And why is the ball flying in the US right now?
Questions have been raised since the US Department of Defense told (you switch to another service)that it has been following the movements of the Chinese balloon over the United States for several days. According to the Ministry of Defense (you will switch to another service) the path of the ball goes over sensitive targets.
China admitted on Friday night that the ball is Chinese. According to China, it is mostly a ball intended for weather observations, which drifted into US airspace by accident.
Orbs have been spotted in the US before, including during the previous administration.
A military expert tells that in terms of intelligence, the use of balloons is not very effective.
– The flight of the ball can be followed and aeronautics can predict its route. In this way, actions that you want to hide can be kept when the suspected spying device is in the area, major evp Marko Eklund says via email.
In terms of relations between China and the United States, the case comes at a special time, says Yelle, director of research at the Foreign Policy Institute Mikael Wigell. Although the relations between the two countries have tightened, according to Wigell, China has rather recently given signs that it would try to loosen up.
asked experts for answers to key questions about the case.
1. How useful is a balloon for gathering information about objects on the ground? Doesn’t the satellite see the same things?
Marko Eklund: Using something like that for the description is not appropriate. The ball is slow and moves with the wind, so choosing the target area is more difficult the further the ball is launched.
The ball hitting the desired target is entirely up to chance and could happen in dark or cloudy weather.
2. What kind of information could the ball collect?
Marko Eklund: A sphere equipped with broadband receivers could be suitable for some kind of mapping of the signal environment. The received information would be sent home via satellite.
3. According to the US, the technology used in the balloon is not special in any way. What does the assessment look like?
Marko Eklund: You should not send any sophisticated technology in the ball that reveals your own performance, because it is certain to be lost and it is very possible for it to fall into the hands of the other party.
4. Where could the ball have been sent from?
Marko Eklund: I don’t know the route, but from the mainland or from a ship on the ocean.
It is also possible that it is a ball that has come loose from its string. These are used, for example, to raise antennas and other equipment into the sky.
It is impossible to determine the range of an intact ball. Twenty years ago, a weather observation balloon escaped in Canada, which Canadians tried to shoot down without success. Even after being shot, the ball flew more than 6,000 kilometers and fell after almost a couple of weeks of flight in Finland, Åland.
5. What other reasons would China have for using such a sphere other than gathering information?
Marko Eklund: Ball flights in general can be related to peaceful scientific experiments, reconnaissance or reconnaissance carried out under the guise of scientific experiments.
The ball can also be used to test the performance and reaction of the opponent’s air defense. When you know the distance from which your own systems detect the object, you can see what is happening on the opposite side.
However, in the case of China and the United States, such precise monitoring is not possible due to the long distance.
In some cases, it could be possible to use the ball to test the opponent’s reactions in general.
6. The US says it won’t shoot down the ball because it could endanger people. Could there be other reasons for refraining from shooting?
Marko Eklund: On a general level, balls like weather observation balls are difficult targets for air defense. They can be difficult to detect and identify by examination.
Shooting down is difficult, because the ball is a flabby sack, which, for example, is hit by an airplane cannon like pinpricks. The flight height of the ball can also be so high that a modern fighter cannot reach that high. Also, the missiles with their radar systems are not optimized for such targets.
7. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken postpones his trip to China because of a cold. Why would China have sent a spy ball just under the visit?
Mikael Wigell: It’s a little hard to fathom why right now. China has recently signaled that it would like to ease relations with the United States. It has lowered its rhetoric and tried to join the conversation.
US-China relations have been bad for some time. The United States has introduced tough high-tech export restrictions, which China is suffering from. China has not reacted to harsh sanctions, but has sent signals that they could talk.
It is nothing new in itself that the great powers spy on each other all the time.
You can discuss topic 4.2. until 11 p.m.