Britain wants to buy its own spy balloons, it's confirmed - just weeks after the tense US-China stand off and shoot down
A £100m research deal was signed last year to develop "stratospheric uncrewed air systems" for the Ministry of Defence.
The device was seen over nuclear missile silos in Montana but officials waited until it flew to the Atlantic Ocean before shooting it down, fearing the impact of falling debris. Under Project Aether, Britain has been looking into the development of surveillance devices with the Sierra Nevada Corporation, which is running test flights, and the MoD has confirmed its interest in "balloon-based" equipment, the Times said.Balloons can travel as high as 80,000ft – above jet fighters and even the high altitude U2 spy plane developed during the Cold War.
"Our working theory is that the turbulence we've all experienced in aeroplanes cruising at 40,000ft doesn't exist to the same degree in the stratosphere."If that's right, we could send up really light aircraft for long periods of time, without worrying about them being battered by turbulent air. This could be a layer of the atmosphere with, we think, very little traffic or weather.
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