Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.
Sirens sound in large areas of occupied Palestine after a missile launch from Yemen was detected
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 14 martyrs arrive at al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli massacre of al-Sultan Family north of Gaza.

US sent 'weather' balloons to spy on China, USSR in 1950s

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Intercept
  • 8 Feb 2023 14:02
4 Min Read

The Chinese balloon is not a surprise for the United States, they had employed it 70 years ago, and lied about it.

  • x
  • The shooting down of the spy balloon capped a remarkable week of high-stakes international drama. (Reuters)
    The shooting down of the Chinese balloon over the United States. (Reuters)

For the past week, US media was occupied with the large Chinese balloon floating over the United States. Before the balloon was shot down on Saturday, the Chinese government declared that it was a "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological." That said, the Pentagon said it has "very high confidence" that the balloon is a surveillance balloon. 

The US government's reactions are not a surprise since it sent spy balloons exactly the same size over both the Soviet Union and China in 1956, according to The Intercept.

What balloons did the US manufacture? 

The US balloons were manufactured by General Mills. The website describes its mission as "making food the world loves," and is currently best known today for its products like Cheerios, Chex, and Lucky Charms.

General Mills provided the balloons to the US Air Force for Project Genetrix, a covert program that collected electronic and photographic data on communist countries. The National Reconnaissance Office of the US Department of Defense published a book titled "HEXAGON Mapping Camera Program and Evolution" in 2012, which discusses Genetrix.

While the US balloons were about 20 stories tall, or around 200 feet, reports indicated that the Chinese balloon “is believed to have been up to 200 feet tall." 

The NRO book: HEXAGON

The cover story used to explain the presence of the large balloons argued that the project was part of a global meteorological survey... to secure vital high-altitude scientific data in conjunction with the International Geophysical Year.

Related News

US, China to resume talks in Madrid; tariffs, TikTok on agenda

China warns Philippines against provocations in South China Sea

"HEXAGON" revealed that the first of 512 balloons was launched on January 10, 1956. However, the Soviet Union quickly realized what was going on, and the program was suspended less than a month later, on February 6.

That said, of the 512 balloons, only 54 were recovered. However, the NRO book reports that these 54 balloons provided photographs of 1.1 million square miles of “the Sino-Soviet area.” This was quite a lot, almost one-tenth of the area of the Soviet Union and China combined.

What was the US goal?

At a news conference on February 7, 1956, Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, engaged in a lengthy, hilarious prevarication about the spy balloons. First, there was outright deception. “The information that is being sought,” he said, “is not essentially or even at all military information.”

The question here is, what was the US goal with all these balloons? “They are gathering an extraordinary amount of new and useful information about these jet stream air currents. … [it] is a part of a project which has worldwide significance.”

Read next: Biden vows to protect US sovereignty if China 'threatens it'

Asked if “the United States feels that they have the right to send these balloons at a certain height anywhere around the globe,” Dulles answered, “Yes, I think that we feel that way.”

He concluded that the US would “try” to avoid the territory of other countries that didn’t like it. However, this did not apply to US and British manned U-2 flights over the USSR. 

"Ike and His Spies in the Sky”

David Haight, an archivist at the Eisenhower Presidential Library, wrote a 2009 article titled "Ike and His Spies in the Sky" about this general issue.

Based on records of White House deliberations, he writes that “Eisenhower authorized aerial intelligence ­collecting programs in order to better assess the military capability of the Soviet Union, China, and other Communist ­bloc nations to launch a surprise attack on the United States.” In other words, the US considered its balloon and U-2 programs to be primarily 'defensive.'

In any event, it's unclear what can be learned from the current balloon mania. However, other people think that a balloon revolution is just around the corner and that this is what some believe could be the beginning of a "balloon war."

Read next: US to keep, study and 'exploit' Chinese 'spy' balloon debris: Sullivan

  • United States
  • Soviet Union
  • USSR
  • China

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Israeli police and rescue teams respond at the scene of a shooting attack where several people killed and injured in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 (AP)

Al-Quds shooting: 7 settlers killed, several critically injured

  • Politics
  • 8 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

Pro-'Israel' far-right Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, September 27, 2024 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' stops unfunded diplomacy ahead of UN, October 7 memorial

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet releases flares over the Gaza Strip, is seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

OIC summit draft: Israeli attack on Qatar risks normalization

People shout slogans and hold Palestinian flags while protesting during the twenty-first stage of La Vuelta cycling race from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP)
Sports

Pro-Palestine protests force abrupt end to Vuelta a España finale

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli regime faces growing isolation over Qatar strike: Reports

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS