It remains a mystery to me exactly what sorts of intel a balloon on an uncontrollable flight path could deliver. China has almost 50 satellites, all of which could be used for spying. Now we’re supposed to be afraid of balloons. This is a good index on the workings of the civil and military minds we have unloosed upon a naive public. Neocon’s need to learn about backlash.
Its pretty clear that most major powers use balloons. Certainly the USA too.
Intel agencies and DoD are so quiet about it, it means its something they don't want to talk about
“on an uncontrollable flight path”
Atmospheric modeling and smart algorithms allow a balloon to change altitude to catch wind in any desired direction, and even to circle around a given point on the ground. GoogleGOOG -7.7% parent Alphabet’s Project Loon used steerable stratospheric balloons to provide internet access to 100,000 people in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017 using this technique.