Spy balloon

Genetrix balloon gondola in the 1950s

A spy balloon is a balloon used for espionage purposes . It can be both manned and unmanned. Until the First World War, manned spy balloons were used to spy out areas behind the enemy front line . These tethered balloons operated by field airships played only a subordinate role as early as the Second World War .

In the cold war between the US and the USSR , spy balloons played a role again. From the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, over 4,000 balloons of foreign origin were counted over the territory of the USSR.

Unmanned spy balloons can also be used for military reconnaissance . Because of their high maximum altitude, spy balloons are very well suited for telecommunications intelligence , especially for frequencies above 30 MHz.