The US will need a lot of missiles if its fighters are to shoot down every stray balloon that emits a radar warning in US airspace.
“At any given time, thousands of balloons” are on Earth, including many used in the world, said Paul Fetkowitz, president of Kaymont Consolidated Industries, a hot air balloon manufacturer. United States by government agencies, military forces, independent researchers and hobbyists. balloons in Melbourne, Fla.
Fetkowitz and other experts say the fleet could explain the origin of some of what John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, call “slow moving objects at high altitude with small radar cross section” have been shot down in the United States and Canada recently.
Since February 4, when the United States shoot down When China’s large surveillance balloon was said to be flying at an altitude of about 12 miles as it flew over the North American continent, federal officials sought to beef up their radar systems and atmospheric monitoring equipment so they could could more closely monitor the nation’s airspace. Balloon experts say the upgrade could create a crippling false alarm wave.
On Friday, warplanes in Alaskan waters fired at an object the size of a small car that a Defense Department official said was most likely a balloon. The next day, an American F-22 struck a cylindrical object over the Yukon Territory in Canada that was smaller than the Chinese surveillance device. On Sunday, an octagonal structure with hanging ropes and no apparent payload fell into Lake Huron. It made its debut in Montana a few days ago.
Mr. Kirby said the three objects pose a threat to civil aviation, but they do not transmit communications.
“This is a complete shock,” Terry Deshleran emeritus professor of atmospheric science at the University of Wyoming, said of the recent price drops and enhanced tracking efforts.
“For years, you haven’t heard anything about balloons,” he said. “Now, we’re looking for any kind of flying object.”
Fetkowitz said he worries that government officials in Washington may not realize how crowded the US skies have become with high-flying balloons. “There is a concern that the right arm doesn’t know what the left arm is doing,” he said of military and civilian operations.
Each year, about 60,000 high-flying balloons are launched with just National Weather Service, the agency said. They ascend to the stratosphere, a layer of the planet’s atmosphere that extends to an altitude of about 30 miles. The balloons used by the Weather Service are designed to soar 20 miles – much higher than any other four objects detected in the last 10 days.
Mr. Fetkowitz noted that Alaska – where American fighters shoot down unidentified flying object on Friday – there are more hot air balloon launch sites than any other state.
Fetkowitz said the Weather Service’s balloons collect data that keeps passenger planes out of harm’s way and helps experts predict the likelihood of severe storms. “It’s all for life’s safety,” he added.
Then there’s NASA, operating a program from Palestine, Texas, has released over 1,700 large balloons over the years on science missions that can last months. Balloons up to 22 miles high, and payloads up to four tons, roughly of three small cars. Some carry sensors that explore the health of the ozone layer, which protects living things from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
Balloon industry experts say DARPA, the secret defense agency in charge of developing advanced technology, is testing a new type of long-term airship for use on the battlefield, acting as contact relays. But Randolph Atkins, a spokesman for the agency, said neither he nor his supervisor was aware of any such projects.
The United States is not alone in its frequent use of hot air balloons. Many countries and territories of the 193 members of the World Meteorological Organization, based in Geneva, regularly send large numbers of stratospheric balloons, some designed for missions. Long-term data collection from all over the world.
“There are no limits,” Mr. Fetkowitz said of the variety of shows and balloons.
Mr Fetkowitz said the balloons released by the National Weather Service were designed to explode at the highest point and break into fine debris that could not pose a danger to wildlife below. He added that some, however, were over-inflated and never flew high enough to burst, and so could wander aimlessly in the wind.
“A hot air balloon dropped in Denver,” he said, “could land in New Jersey.”
People who use balloons for scientific, commercial, and military purposes have faced criticism in the past. For years, environmentalists have said that the exploding balloons have fallen back to earth and jeopardized the natural landscape, especially marine life.
“It was a big scandal,” said Marilynn Mendella public relations consultant criticized the environmental impact of stray weather balloons for several years. She points to balloon debris she found on a beach in 2016 as an example. “The laces on these balloons are big and long,” she said. “It’s an international issue.”
Kaymont Industries’ Mr Fetkowitz says such criticism has left balloon users unable to speak up and interact with the public. “A lot of scientists out there are bowing, even though they know ‘they’re doing the right thing’ for public safety,” he said.
The silence of the balloon experts may explain why none of the owners of the downed object, with the exception of China, are known to have openly discussed the incident or complaint.
Not all balloons are used for strictly scientific or commercial purposes. Fetkowitz said a strange event occurred when a customer used one of his company’s balloons to hang a device that played the Pink Floyd album “The Dark Side of the Moon”. “. Mr. Fetkowitz said another balloon carried Thomas tank engine toy for kids to stratosphere heights.
He added: “We test our customers. “We turned people down. We don’t want to do business with a guy who wants to turn in a gun.”
