Aeronautical engineers said that the Chinese hot air balloon that appeared in the US might be a high-altitude non-pressurized balloon with the ability to operate for many weeks.
| Chinese hot air balloon appeared in Montana, USA. Image: AP. |
China’s Foreign Ministry on February 3 confirmed that the balloon detected in US airspace was from China. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was a civilian balloon, used for weather research purposes. Archyde.com news.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken considered it a spy balloon, and postponed his visit to Beijing indefinitely, until “conditions permit”.
Currently, there are not many specific methods to determine the purpose of Chinese hot air balloons flying over US airspace. Experts say the first step to determine if it is a spy balloon is to seize the equipment mounted on the balloon, according to the report. Washington Post.
Aviation and security experts say the design of the airship shares many similarities with the high-altsed airships, used by many countries around the world for weather data collection, telecommunications and scientific research. .
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| The structure of the high-altitude non-pressurized hot air balloon, is said to be the type of Chinese hot air balloon flying over US airspace. Graphics: Washington Post. Vietnameseization: Tran Hoang. |
According to the Pentagon, the balloon will hover over the US airspace for a few more days, and move east.
A senior US official said Washington considered shooting down the hot air balloon as it flew into US airspace in the Atlantic Ocean. Earlier, the US Department of Defense said it would not shoot down the balloon while it was flying over the US mainland, due to concerns that the debris might pose a threat to civilians. Archyde.com.
It is not clear how Chinese hot air balloons use to travel above the stratosphere. Some high-altitude balloons will be fitted with semi-automatic navigation devices and pre-set routes. In other cases, it will depend on the wind direction, and adjust the height and height to catch the wind in the desired direction.
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| The journey of a Chinese hot air balloon before entering US airspace. Graphics: Washington Post. Vietnameseization: Tran Hoang. |
On February 2, US officials declined to discuss what technology was built into the Chinese balloon, but the Pentagon insisted that the installed objects would not have much spying capabilities.
