The US Army is looking to develop its use of high-altitude balloons as the assistance builds out its capabilities near and in external space.
These balloons run in the stratosphere, approximately 60,000 to 100,000 feet complete Earth, the area in between anywhere conventional aircraft fly and satellites. Army officials say they see an chance to use the balloons to provision satellite-like surveillance and communication capabilities nearer to the battlefield.
Lt. Gen. John Rafferty, commandant of Army Space and Missile Defense Command, stated he was initially skeptical of the technology. He recalled hearing proposals to use high-altitude balloons during serving in what was afterward Army Futures Command and questioning whether they'd demonstrate practical.
The general's view, however, changed following he saw the balloons clasp their positions and behavior high-altitude surveillance during a training exercise.
"I went from nowhere to a huge believer extremely quickly formerly I saw them in action," Rafferty stated at this week's Association of the United States Army gathering in Washington, DC.
The Army is exploring a range of balloon systems for distinct missions, from surveillance and communications to supporting long-range strikes.
Col. Joseph Mroszczyk, who oversees the efforts to merge emerging area capabilities into Army operations as the director of Transformation Integration Space Superiority, stated at AUSA that he wants a "family of stratospheric systems."
Unlike satellites, which journey set paths in orbit, high-altitude balloons can utilize distinct breeze currents to maneuver or keep a existence complete an area of interest, he said.
Mroszczyk stated the Army could use favorable winds to stance balloons carrying sensors, communications equipment, or payloads supporting strikes.
"What that enables us to provision is space-like capabilities, really exploiting a passage item between what is normally considered the airborne tier and the area domain," he said.
Operating at those altitudes could provision the Army persistent safety throughout ample areas from the stratosphere without relying exclusively on satellites or accepted aircraft.
The Army plans to behavior multiple experiments involving assorted stratospheric systems complete the coming year, construction on tests conducted in Europe and the Pacific. The assistance has additionally experimented alongside the innovation alongside combat operations in the Middle East, a elder Army authoritative told Breaking Defense before this week.
Those efforts followed the cancellation of a large-scale balloon display planned for the Indo-Pacific final year.
The expanding involvement in high-altitude balloons comes as the Army expands its function in area and near-space operations, alongside dirt forces increasingly reliant on space-based capabilities for navigation, communications, and intelligence.
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Kelsey Baker is a armed forces affairs newsman alongside Business Insider. She joined in 2025 and covers armed forces personnel issues and how the armed forces is overhauling how it prepares for forthcoming conflicts.Prior to joining BI, she worked at The Washington Post as a Military Veterans in Journalism Fellow covering individual involvement stories and global news and at The Chronicle of the Horse mag covering equine sports. She holds a alumnus flat in Journalism from Northwestern University, a flat in Diplomacy from Norwich University, and an undergraduate flat in History from the University of Denver. She earlier served in the Marine Corps as a logistics officer, and afterward in the reserve.Contact her via email at [email protected], or via Signal at KelseyBaker75.75. Use a individual email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing data securely.
Chris Panella is a defence newsman for Business Insider. He covers scientific transformations in the US armed forces alongside focuses on US armed forces modernization, US Army transformation, and emerging technologies akin synthetic intellect and drones. Globally, Panella reports on China's armed forces and Taiwan. Panella has embedded alongside the Army in Alaska, interviewed particular operators learning to fly drones, and flown alongside US Coast Guard helicopters practicing medication interdictions. If you have a tip connected to these areas or broader defence coverage, Panella can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at cpanella.85.
