MOD floats the idea of using balloons for spying missions

THE Ministry of Defence is exploring how it could use spy balloons as part of a long-running research project.

Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), the procurement wing of the ministry, is running test flights with prototype devices to conduct “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance”. It is part of Project Aether, a 19-month research initiative launched in December 2021.

In an interview with the DE&S inhouse magazine, Ross Corbett, military requirements manager, said the project aims to “explore how we can effectively operate in the stratosphere, the space 50 to 80,000 feet above the Earth, using high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned air systems”.

He added: “The eventual platform will be used to conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and rebroadcast activities over an ultrawide area to support strategic and operational decision-making and shape tactical actions.”

The MOD has learned that it may be beneficial to have a “range of available capabilities”, he said.