Chinese Spy Balloon

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• News summary: Chinese Spy Balloon
• Spy balloon and US China tie
• What are spy balloons?
• Why use spy balloons rather than satellites?

Why in news?

• The US military has downed the suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean and launched a mission to recover all the equipment from its debris.
• This has drawn a strong reaction from China which warned of repercussions over America’s use of force against its civilian unmanned airship.

News summary: Chinese Spy Balloon

Image Caption: About Chinese Spy Balloon

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Spy balloon and US China tie

• Why USA is worried?
  • Earlier, the Pentagon said it has detected a surveillance balloon over Montana. It was found to be traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic.
    • Montana is home to some of America’s most lethal nuclear Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICMBs).
  • USA claimed that the balloon was being used by the People Republic of China to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.
  • By shooting down the balloon, USA addressed the surveillance threat posed to military installations and further neutralise any intelligence value it could have produced, preventing it from returning to China.
  • Chinese infiltration of US on the ground and now in the air has stirred disquiet in both strategic and political circles.
    • Proposed land purchases by China in neighboring North Dakota is being opposed US lawmakers and military analysts.
    • They say that it could be cover for spying on a nearby military facility where drone test flights are conducted.
• What is China’s response?
  • China has said the balloon, spotted over the state of Montana, is merely a “civilian airship” which deviated from its planned route.
  • After USA shot down the balloon, China expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition towards the US use of force to attack China’s civilian unmanned airship.
  • It contended that the use of force by USA was an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.

What are spy balloons?

• A contemporary spy balloon is a piece of spying equipment, for example a camera, suspended beneath a balloon that floats above a given area, carried by wind currents. 
  • The equipment attached to the balloons may include radar and be solar powered.
• Balloons are one of the oldest forms of surveillance technology. The Japanese military used them to launch incendiary bombs in the US during World War Two. 
• They were also widely used by the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
• Modern balloons typically hover between 24km-37km above the earth’s surface (80,000ft-120,000ft).

Image Caption: Surveillance Balloons

Why use spy balloons rather than satellites?

• For the last few decades, satellites were used on a regular basis. But now lasers or kinetic weapons are being invented to target satellites.
• Hence, there is a resurgence of interest in balloons.
• Although, these balloons don’t offer the same level of persistent surveillance as satellites, but are easier to retrieve, and much cheaper to launch.
• Balloons can also scan more territory from a lower altitude and spend more time over a given area because they move more slowly than satellites.

Q1) What is a surveillance satellite?

Surveillance satellite is an orbiting satellite used to carry out surveillance of an enemy country or military formations from space.

Q2) What is surveillance?

Surveillance is the close monitoring of a person’s behavior or activities to gather information about them which can be used to influence or manage decision making. In the context of espionage, surveillance comes in many different forms.

Source: US downs Chinese surveillance balloon, China threatens repercussions | The Guardian | BBC | Times of India​​​​​​​