Last week, Russian media reported that balloons had been sent up to monitor the border with Finland.
Now the Finnish border guard confirms that they observed the balloons.
– It is not very often that you see this type, but in terms of use, it is a practical solution to a problem. You can get sensors up at high altitude, says Tony Ingesson, researcher in intelligence analysis to TV4 Nyheterna.
The state-owned Russian television channel Rossiya 1 reported last week that several Russian balloons or airships had been sent to the Finnish border. The aim would be to monitor people trying to cross the border into Finland, reports Swedish EPN.
The balloons are attached to the ground with ropes or wires according to images from Russian media. Initially, the Finnish border guard had not seen any of the Russian balloons, despite personnel checking the border.
But now the balloons have been discovered by the Finnish border guard, reports EPN.
– We have noticed many different types of craft. It’s about, for example, the kind of surveillance balloons that have been seen in pictures in the media reports recently, says unit manager Mikko Lehmus at the Finnish border guard to EPN.
“Better endurance than a drone”
However, using balloons for intelligence purposes is not entirely unusual, says Tony Ingesson, assistant university lecturer in intelligence analysis at Lund University.
– Balloons appear from time to time, but they are usually high-altitude balloons, it happened recently in the USA. But they were also often used in the 50s, says Ingesson.
But it’s not often you see the type of balloons that are anchored in one place. According to Tony Ingesson, however, it is a practical solution to a common problem.
– You can get sensors up at a high altitude and they have better endurance than, for example, a drone, it needs to rotate and then it needs to be charged, says Ingesson.
The expert: May be they are meant to be seen
Why Russia has chosen to use balloons in particular is unclear. According to Tony Ingesson, it cannot be ruled out that the purpose is for them to be seen.
– The Russians do things to be noticed, but exactly what they want to achieve is difficult to speculate about. It may have been a practical trade-off – they had some balloons available, says Ingesson.
Last week, a Russian balloon with the letter Z painted on it also flew over the border between Russia and Estonia, reports ERR.
– We cannot agree to the provocation from Russia and panic. For us, it is a normal incident at the border, said Egert Belichev, head of the Estonian Police Border Guard.