China sees ‘near space’ as a new international battlefield

China and balloons that serve a military purpose? It is not new, according to what Chinese media and scientists have previously said and written about it. China sees an area of ​​airspace that lies between about twenty and one hundred kilometers above the earth as an important new international battlefield. China calls it “near space.”

For example, China is currently experimenting with small, hypersonic aircraft that can be launched from a balloon. In 2019, state television showed images of the launch of a white, shiny balloon including hanging small, pointed metal objects with the point down in a metal rack. These would be miniature hypersonic aircraft, which, according to Chinese media, could fly five times as fast as sound.

The balloon will fly higher than commercial and military aircraft, but lower than where satellites orbit the Earth. The Chinese suspected spy balloon that the US shot down at the beginning of this month also flew into this near-space. These types of balloons fly at an altitude of between 24 and 37 kilometers.

As early as 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also commander-in-chief of China’s armed forces, instructed the air force to accelerate the integration of China’s aerospace capabilities with that of aviation, so that the Chinese military could develop better offensive and defensive capabilities in the near future. -room.

Much better cameras

The near space is especially interesting now that China has high technology and, for example, much better cameras than before. Chinese interest in the role of balloons in war dates back to the late 1970s, but initially little was done with it: China did not yet have the technology to make good use of them.

But for modern military purposes, balloons are interesting for China. This is evident from an article by Shi Hong, editor of a military journal published by an institute affiliated with the Chinese army. He is writing of balloons that they “can remain stationary for long periods of time” and are not easily detected by radar systems.

Read also Balloon espionage: ancient tool in the modern military toolbox

This makes it easier to see what exactly is changing at a specific military location, for example. For example, will the nuclear missiles in Montana be moved? And also: what exactly do the soldiers on the ground near the missiles say? Eavesdropping with a stationary balloon can be better than with a satellite.

That balloons are less easily discovered is evident from the three balloons that, according to the Americans, would have flown over the US before, but which were not immediately recognized as such. It is therefore also interesting for China to know how countries react if a balloon is discovered. Will alarm bells ring, or will they let it go?

In short: “With the rapid development of modern technology, the space where intelligence confrontation takes place is no longer limited to land, sea and low altitudes. Near-space has also become a new battlefield in modern warfare and an important part of the national security system,” said a 2018 article in the Daily newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army. In the article also stated that several “near-space aircraft” will play an indispensable role in future combat operations.

Mutual accusations

Meanwhile, the US accuses China of running a massive spy balloon program that has already flown over 40 countries on five continents. Although Chinese sources talk about individual balloons and experiments.

Read also China remains silent about the balloon, but joking is allowed

In turn, China also accuses the US of sending ten spy balloons to China. “It’s very simple that the US is invading the skies of others”said a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Last year alone, more than 10 US high-air balloons flew illegally through Chinese airspace without permission from the relevant Chinese authorities,” the spokesman said.

China did not provide any evidence for this, and the US immediately denied the news. But according to the scientific journal the New Scientist the US and the UK would also increasingly invest in high-tech spy balloons that fly at an altitude of twenty kilometers above the earth: a new international battleground.