On February 6, the US Department of Defense announced that the US military had begun collecting the remains of the Chinese surveillance balloon, which swam over the United States and was shot down by an F-22 Raptor fighter jet with a single missile off the coast of Carolina. Southern.

The statement added that agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Naval Criminal Investigation Service merged with recovery operations personnel to help understand the installation of the balloon, its sensors, and the data it collected, especially as it flew over Montana, where one of the bases is located. US nuclear.

While the US and Canadian militaries confirmed that the balloon was intended for surveillance and espionage, the Chinese government replied that it was a civilian balloon for meteorological research, but it derailed.

The incident has increased tensions between the United States and China.

The balloon carries devices that usually serve as transmitters, cameras or navigation systems (Getty Images)

Observation balloons

The Chinese balloon joins the category of high-altitude balloons, which are huge balloons usually filled with helium or hydrogen, and launched into the stratosphere from the atmosphere, reaching between 18 and 37 kilometers above the Earth's surface.

The balloon carries the devices below it, usually as transmitters, cameras, or satellite navigation systems, as well as devices for the purpose of the balloon, often for the purpose of studying the weather or some research work.

However, sometimes the balloon may be used for espionage purposes.

At these altitudes, the balloon can obtain high-resolution images and maps of the Earth, as well as monitor changes over time.

These devices can also intercept and analyze communication signals between military agencies, and even monitor the movement of personnel and forces.

In the case of the Chinese airship, its bottom payload was huge, estimated to be 3 school buses long (about 20-30 meters) and payload weighing about a full ton, and it was supported by 16 arrays of solar panels installed on it.

In the case of the Chinese balloon, its bottom load was huge and estimated to be as long as 3 school buses (Reuters)

Why are balloons used for espionage?

Balloons of this type do not have relatively large advantages compared to other spy devices, when compared together in terms of the ability to evade detection through ground radars, but the high altitude and cold weather in the upper atmosphere make it difficult to monitor and discover such balloons.

The main secret in using these airships for espionage can be:

  • First is the airship's relative proximity to the Earth's surface.

  • Secondly, its relatively slow movement enables it to collect the largest amount of information.

On the other hand, the satellites that can be used for monitoring are divided into two categories:

  • The first revolves in low Earth orbit, and is closest to the Earth, but remains at an altitude of hundreds of kilometers, and these satellites can be used to take pictures, but they remain distant pictures, and these satellites usually run very quickly, as they make an orbit around the entire Earth every 90 minute.

  • The second type of satellite enters what is called a geosynchronous orbit, it is fixed and it can focus on one area, but it is very far from Earth.

Spy balloons usually have guidance techniques, but they mainly depend on the movement of air currents from their point of departure to the point of arrival, and therefore these balloons do not return to their point of departure, and accordingly they must contain data transmission tools before their mission ends and they are dropped in a safe place.

As for the Chinese airship, the evidence is still not clear, and this is a pivotal point by revealing it, and it is possible to say with certainty about the role played by the airship.

If the investigation revealed the presence of a movable propeller, steering rudder or self-steering capability with a track built into the hardware, then this indicates the possibility of a spying balloon, in addition to analyzing other technical pieces.