US Army looks to high-flying balloons to help see, strike along front lines with China

To burst China’s anti-access/area-denial bubble, the U.S. Army is looking at using high-flying balloons with payloads that can monitor the battlefield, relay communications and strike adversaries. The Army has tinkered with high-altitude balloons for some time, but interest and experimentation have grown in recent years. Against China’s growing arsenal in the vastness of the Pacific , those balloons could provide a cheaper, lower-signature platform that can be employed from dispersed positions, Maj. Gen. Bernard Harrington, commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division/Multi-Domain…