UK mulls spy-balloon fleet of its own
The UK government is researching the possibility of creating its own high-altitude surveillance airships, according to the March issue of Desider, a magazine produced by Britain's Ministry of Defence. This comes shortly after the scandal over a Chinese “spy balloon” in US airspace.
The UK defense ministry last year signed a £100 million ($118.6 million) contract to research “stratospheric uncrewed air systems,” according to The Times’ report published Monday. Britain is considering buying a fleet of spy balloons, it added.
Project Aether is a research initiative that aims to “better understand the stratosphere and the high-altitude platforms that could operate there,”Ross Corbett, the project’s military requirements manager told Desider. The research is assigned to the British Defence Equipment and Support’s Future Capabilities Group, London’s “hub for strategic research and innovation.”
