Hot air balloons are used for military purposes

The US Department of Defense is studying typical military models of the nineteenth century to apply for the construction of military forces in the twenty-first century. Especially among these must be the very efficient reconnaissance gasoline-powered balloon, which is being put into the necessary list of military developments of this century by military authorities.

Information from the US Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency said it will spend millions of dollars to develop a fuel-powered balloon that has been upgraded to a high level. Among these are the super-large balloon, flying high at 65,000 feet (1F equal to 0.3038 m). This type of ' super modern aircraft ' can run on solar, wind, helium, carrying equipment weighing up to 500 pounds (1 pound = 0.454 kg).

The super modern balloon type called HAA ,

HAA balloon (Photo: galileoshipyards)

will be massively tested in 2008. HAA can fly for about 500 miles, along American coasts, while patrolling it can detect complex modern missiles far from 370 miles. , ships can be detected 200 miles away. US military experts say the device could be more efficient and cheaper than surveillance or spy planes.

Military aircraft manufacturers are Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., and Northrop Grumman Corp. being selected by the Pentagon as a production partner. This state-of-the-art device can be 17 times larger than a small balloon, it can also be designed with a roof to allow a person to observe. The person sitting in the device is protected by special surrounding materials, in the hot air balloon also has an "arm system" that can block enemy shells.

Jeffery Mack, director of the US Air Force Balloon Research Project, said flying at the same height is equivalent to the stratosphere, the observation ability of the HAA is very large, like a superior radar . Currently, the US military has also used air balloons using fuel fuels observed in the Afghan, Iraqi battlefield, along the US-Mexico border, which flies about 10,000 feet above the ground, on equipment. attach multiple sensors and cameras. Other types of balloon are also bought by Israel, with rifles, to spy.

It is known that hot air balloon was produced and operated officially in 1783 , invented by Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier brothers. In the early years of the eighteenth century, hot air balloons were produced with poor and weak materials, mainly used for experimentation or entertainment. In 1852, French engineer Henri Giffard built a balloon like an airplane, fitted with a giant steam engine, flying only for about 17 miles, a maximum speed of 5 miles per minute. The discovery of a gasoline engine in 1898 led to the production of gasoline-powered hot air balloons, made by Brazilian engineer Alberto Santos-Dumont.

During World War II, the United States also used air balloons to escort ships, to navigate the operation of ships, to search for submarines. Only one was shot down during the war. In 1943, the US Navy also found a balloon attached to a German submarine near the Florida sea. Normally, people often use hot air balloons to attack submarines.

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