China’s military interest in high-altitude balloons is growing, documents reveal

As China and the United States fight over what Washington says are Chinese surveillance balloons over US territory, dozens of Chinese documents show greater interest in using balloon technology for military purposes.

China’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly described the balloon launched by the United States as a flawed scientific craft, but Chinese military researchers recently argued in a publicly available paper that the aircraft should be developed and deployed on specific missions.

One paper published last April by researchers at the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) agency that focuses on “special aircraft” says that one useful application of military balloons is to test enemy air defenses.

“[The balloon can] inducing and mobilizing enemy air defense systems, providing requirements for the implementation of electronic reconnaissance, assessment of early warning detection of air defense systems and operational response capabilities,” the researchers wrote.

The paper and several other articles from PLA-controlled publications also show a strong interest from the Chinese military establishment in studying how the United States and other countries have used military balloons in the past, as well as the clear goal of closing gaps in the field. .

recovery efforts

Balloons are also used for scientific purposes such as weather monitoring, including by the China Meteorological Administration.

The United States is trying to recover the debris after one of its fighter jets downed the balloon while it was off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. China condemned what it called an “overreaction” and warned of possible retaliation.

While US officials say China has smarter and more sophisticated ways to gather intelligence on its rivals, such as a network of spy satellites, the PLA newspaper also said the low cost of using balloons is one reason China needs to deploy them again.

“In response to the growing threat posed by land-based air defense systems to air assault forces, it is necessary to use low-cost balloons to create active and passive interference to prevent the enemy’s air defense early warning system and cover the air assault forces that will carry out their mission. ,” he said.

‘quick gap’

The PLA paper appeared in Shipboard Electronic Countermeasure, a journal owned by China’s state-owned shipping conglomerate that publishes articles on topics including signal jamming and electronic warfare.

“In order to narrow the gap with foreign countries when it comes to air balloons, and to prevent China from being attacked by these weapons, we must actively carry out … research on related operational issues to improve the offensive combat capabilities of our military. , “he said.

Some regional security analysts say the balloons could also collect data in the upper atmosphere useful for China’s missile program, or be used for high-resolution photography to supplement intelligence material available via satellites.

China’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China’s military units and state research institutes have bought high-altitude balloons and related technology over the past two years, a Reuters analysis of government tenders shows, although the documents are heavily redacted.

The Aerospace Information Research Institute, part of the official Chinese Academy of Sciences, is among the state institutions that have shown interest in balloons, often publishing articles about high-altitude balloons on their official WeChat account.

While many articles focus on space exploration and balloon aerodynamics, others analyze how the aircraft has been deployed in the military in the past, with a particular focus on how other countries have defended themselves from the threat of balloons and how they have been used offensively.