Are EMP Balloons The Future Of Warfare?
How a Chinese spy balloon shows us a new frontier of electronic warfare
After a Chinese spy balloon rattled the United States and raised eyebrows around the world, many people are asking what the point was. Was the balloon meant as a message? Have we been sleeping on advanced balloon technology? Was the balloon trying to photograph nuclear sites or pipelines? Or is there something more sinister going on?
One leading theory is that the balloon used by the Chinese was a dry run for a future nuclear EMP attack. Military experts are sounding off that the balloon’s shape, control, and altitude were the perfect delivery method for an EMP attack.
An EMP attack is a high altitude nuclear explosion that releases a blast of energy that fries electrical circuits in a certain radius. Any unprotected electronics in the blast radius will go dead. It can leave entire regions devoid of power for weeks at a time. Many people believe that an EMP attack will precede any future first strike in the lead up to the next major war.
This balloon could be new technology for a delivery system designed to covertly float an EMP device over a sensitive area. The United States opted not to shoot down the balloon until it was over water. If it had contained an EMP device, it could…
