- Weather surveillance has supported intelligence collection since WWII. Any time you fly a vehicle in the atmosphere, you need to know the weather aloft for operational reasons (fuel, navigation, etc.) and intelligence collection reasons (cloud cover, atmospheric effects on radio signals, etc.).
- The Chinese have made significant strides with balloons, using them to string high power cables across difficult terrain, and monitoring fires, floods, and earthquakes. Just like the civil engineering exploits they displayed by turning submerged islands into fortresses with airfields and ports, they’ve proven to be experts at converting civil engineering expertise into military power.
- By mounting an operation to retrieve the balloon and its payload intact using military assets and personnel we’ve reinforced our standing as the greatest military power and the greatest intelligence power in the world. If we continue to play our cards right, we can walk with confidence into the next 100 years as the American Century.
