By Ivan Radja (La Tribune de Genève)
No doubt thanks to Bertrand Piccard's "
Breitling Orbiter
", the stratospheric ascents of his grandfather Auguste and the countless weather probes that have crisscrossed the skies for decades, it must be admitted that the military use of these "lighter
than the air
" had passed under the radar.
Evidenced by the errors of the Pentagon during the detection of the famous Chinese "
UFOs
".
A spy balloon was shot down by American fighters on February 4, and three more since.
But the vagueness still reigns over their origin, President Joe Biden having recognized that the latter were “
undoubtedly balloons linked to private companies
”.
Discreet
"
Spy balloons have the advantage of being less traceable than airplanes, are more discreet and therefore inspire less mistrust,
" analyzes historian Christophe Siméon, author of "
L'envol missed de l'aviation militaire suisse à la end of the Belle Époque
.
Read alsoWestern radars challenged by spy balloons
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