Espionage balloon
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An espionage balloon, reconnaissance balloon, or surveillance balloon is a balloon used for spying.
During the Cold War, espionage balloons launched by the Western bloc had a secondary psychological warfare capability, carrying propaganda pamphlets and consumer goods (which were supposedly not freely available inside Communist states) that would be released or otherwise delivered onto enemy territories.[citation needed]
The advent of spy satellites, coupled with the end of the Cold War, have rendered espionage balloons obsolete.
Surveillance balloon programs include Project Moby Dick[1] and Project Genetrix.[2]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Peebles, Curtis, 1991. The Moby Dick Project: Reconnaissance Balloons over Russia. Smithsonian Books, ISBN 1-56098-025-7
- ^ Fowler, Shane (25 July 2017). "Mystery solved: 'Thing in the woods' revealed as CIA spy camera, 55 years later". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
External links[]
- Nighttime photography, a description of WW2 aerial reconnaissance photography by Harold Eugene Edgerton
Categories:
- Espionage techniques
- Balloons (aeronautics)
- Espionage devices
- Aviation stubs