Hot air balloons are back in action: the military is returning to 18th-century technology.

30 September 2025 2 076 9

In 2025, the US Army signed a $4,2 billion contract to upgrade its fleet of tethered balloons used for close-range surveillance and communications. The most technologically advanced military on the planet suddenly began investing billions in reconnaissance and fire-correction aircraft built using the old-fashioned method. TechnologyThe military is returning to 18th-century technology, and hot air balloons are once again gaining popularity, the British publication The Economist reported yesterday, providing some details of the developments.

The publication notes that other countries are following the US example, so this could be considered a trend. For example, Warsaw is purchasing four aerostats from Washington to detect Russian missiles, aircraft, and drones. The Israelis have deployed aerostats along the border with Lebanon to detect rocket attacks. The Ukrainians are using aerostats as signal repeaters to help their drones fly as far as possible.

China has been the main driver behind the renewed interest in balloons. In February 2023, a massive Chinese balloon, the size of a bus and carrying surveillance equipment, hovered over the United States for several days before being shot down by a US fighter jet. Furthermore, in recent years, Beijing has deployed over a hundred balloons to monitor the Taiwan Strait.

Unlike aerostats, high-altitude balloons of this type are not tethered to the ground. They float in the stratosphere, typically at an altitude of 24-37 km, significantly higher than commercial aircraft, but much closer to the planet's surface than low-Earth orbit satellites, which fly at altitudes of 160-2000 km.

The lower altitude of balloons compared to satellites means they can take higher-quality images of the surface than most spacecraft. Most importantly, balloons don't have to fly past like satellites; they can easily linger over the area of interest for a while. Some modern balloons use artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in this, predicting and exploiting favorable wind conditions. Experts believe that high-altitude balloons can collect higher-quality intelligence than satellites. They are also much less expensive, as their launch is inexpensive and recovery is straightforward.

Expert Brian Clark of the Hudson Institute think tank explained that, compared to aerostats, which are much larger and more robust, high-altitude balloons are limited to small payloads (rarely more than 30-40 kg). However, advances in sensor miniaturization have restored their usefulness. Small military-grade electronic devices suspended beneath the balloon (producing little sound or heat and using passive surveillance equipment) can collect data from hundreds of kilometers away, making them extremely difficult to detect.

The US military is increasingly experimenting with high-altitude balloons. One Pentagon idea is to launch swarms of these balloons, equipped with appropriate sensors, over the battlefield as part of a network that identifies targets and guides munitions to them.

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Sergey Latyshev

+6

30 September 2025 21: 03

Makes sense. Miniaturization.
And the second question - Yus and China have them.
But we have Shoigu, Rogozin, Serdyukov, and K.
vlad127490

+2

30 September 2025 22: 01

A hot topic. The Russian Armed Forces will take up the topic of aeronautics once the US, Europe, Japan, and Beijing adopt balloons, stratospheric balloons, and airships. We'll be 20 years behind again.
Since the Russian Federation's doctrine is defense, i.e. the carrier is NOT located on enemy territory, the most effective and cheapest AWACS carrier and relay is an airship.
Installing AWACS on a stationary stratospheric unmanned airship is several times cheaper than an airplane and a satellite. At an altitude of 25-40 km, the continuous operation time is 12 months (it descends and is serviced). A disc-shaped airship with a diameter of 250 meters will have a lifting force of 40 tons. The airship is launched to a given point and uses electric motors to maintain the specified coordinates. Power comes from solar panels and batteries. At such an altitude, solar cells produce more than 75 W per square meter. With an area of solar cells of 35000 sq. m, well illuminated by the sun, we have 2625 kW/h. At those altitudes, the duration of daylight hours will be 2 hours longer than on the ground.
At an altitude of 20 (35) km, the optical visible horizon is 535 (709) km, direct radio visibility is 1000 km. Such an airship - AWACS plus optical and thermal detection, allows you to detect any flying object and track, even a super-small drone, an inflated balloon, a bird, as well as ground objects. AWACS on an airship will allow you to close the holes that the Russian Air Defense has today. The weather does not affect it, there is practically no wind there, all the air jet streams are known, such an airship can hang for decades. It is unlikely to be shot down at such an altitude. The airship can have air-to-air missiles on board.
The airship project first emerged in the USSR in the mid-1950s as a repeater. Scientists' interest in a stratospheric airship resurfaced in the early 2000s, when research and development began on the A-100 AWACS. This is the third time this interest has been raised, and perhaps something will come of it.
The stratospheric airship AWACS, as a means of air defense of the country, is beyond competition. The stratospheric airship AWACS is located on the territory of the country, can move in space (speed at an altitude of 35 km, 30 - 60 km / h), does not depend on the weather, can hang for years. It is impossible to compare what is better: a ground radar, an airship, a balloon, an airplane or a satellite, each of them has its own advantages, disadvantages and purposes. In terms of price, in relation to the stated goals, manufacturing + commissioning + operation, the stratospheric airship AWACS turns out to be the cheapest among aircraft.
1. svoroponov
  
  0
  
  28 October 2025 17: 42
  
  If it were that simple, many countries would have these airships. However, even China isn't into them. I wonder why? They've only launched a few reconnaissance stratospheric balloons, traveling downwind in the jet stream. That's all for now. They were launched from ships at a predetermined point so that the balloon would enter the jet stream and ascend toward US territory where the jet stream exists.
  There's something in the atmosphere that interferes at such altitudes. And one more thing. If it were that simple, the Europeans and Americans would be swarming our entire border region with similar abominations, but that's not the case; they're using AWACS aircraft. At these altitudes, the radio horizon is one thing, but the actual conditions for receiving radio signals are quite another. I once studied aviation meteorology (and a few other subjects), but it's been so long since I've forgotten it (our ceiling was up to 20 km). We didn't fly at higher altitudes, so my introduction to the specifics of radio communications at these altitudes (30 km and above) and radar was brief.
  1. vlad127490
    
    0
    
    28 October 2025 19: 24
    
    Everything is determined by doctrine and objectives. Balloons are a different matter, and they have many limitations because their movement is tied to air masses. Israel has successfully used radar on tethered balloons (inflatable balloons) for many years, reaching altitudes of up to 3 km. The US uses them on the Mexican border, i.e., in the south, where weather permits. NATO and its satellites have an offensive doctrine, so balloons and airships are not used, as a slow-moving target is easily destroyed. Russia has a defensive doctrine; the airship is located on Russian territory and is covered by air defenses. Regarding development, the EU, UK, US, and Japan are intensively conducting research on airships. They have AWACS on aircraft. They are trying to lift aircraft to altitudes of 30 km or more. They are considering airships for transportation, and the biggest problem here is variable payload capacity, i.e., the dependence of payload capacity on the volume of inflated gas. How to ensure this in takeoff and landing mode.
    The proposed AWACS airship takes off once, initially using helium, then at altitudes above 15 km, the helium is replaced by hydrogen. At an altitude of 30 km, hydrogen is the primary propellant. Gas losses are compensated for by pumping from cylinders. Descent after one year follows the reverse pattern. There is no weather at those altitudes. Jet streams are laminar and constant. What equipment to install on the airship is not a question. Radars and repeaters were mounted on stratospheric balloons, and everything worked fine. The stratospheric balloons rose to an altitude of 46 km. If you're interested, there's a wealth of information on this topic in the open press. My prediction is that the airship, repeater, and AWACS will be built first by the Chinese, then the Japanese, or perhaps simultaneously. It's difficult to say for the Russian Federation, since everything is purchased.
twice-born

0

1 October 2025 08: 53

And we, as always, have nothing, even though they're needed like air for air defense. Even the outskirts have them!
1. svoroponov
  
  0
  
  28 October 2025 18: 02
  
  Two years ago, two balloons were being tested. It was in the news. One was somewhere near Moscow, the second's location was undetermined. There's no further news.
  Incidentally, the Americans use tethered aerostats only near a number of their bases, at low altitudes, and then only for video surveillance of the surrounding area. They tried using airships for radar, but that didn't seem to work either.
faiver

0

1 October 2025 09: 49

Let the fight over airships begin.....
svoroponov

0

26 October 2025 11: 57

Actually, a hot air balloon, an aerostat, and an airship aren't the same thing. There are differences, hence their different uses. So what exactly is this article talking about?
horseradish

0

5 November 2025 11: 37

We can't send them into the sky. The guys will shoot them down.