The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that trials of high-altitude uncrewed balloons conducted in South Dakota under Project Aether successfully met or exceeded all objectives.
The tests form part of a wider effort to develop long-endurance, high-altitude Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms capable of operating in challenging conditions, according to the department.
Responding to a written question from Ben Obese-Jecty, Conservative MP for Huntingdon, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said “the trials in South Dakota were successful and achieved or surpassed all intended test objectives.”
He outlined that these objectives included “providing 24-hour Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance coverage in high-latitude winter conditions at high altitude; locating, identifying, and tracking signals, and disseminating data over both Line of Sight and Satellite communications; maintaining continuous endurance at high altitude; and enabling airborne handover of ISR coverage between different platforms.”
Project Aether is part of the Ministry of Defence’s broader effort to expand uncrewed and near-space surveillance capabilities. The programme seeks to field systems capable of operating in the stratosphere for extended durations, offering persistent intelligence collection at a fraction of the cost of traditional satellite or crewed aircraft platforms.
According to the Ministry of Defence, further analysis of the data collected during the South Dakota trials will inform future development and potential operational concepts for long-endurance uncrewed surveillance platforms.
Great, another trial going no where, it does have project name though. Instead of an tracked long over due new IFV the infantry can use ballons? they are cheaper. The loonies at the MOD and CDS think wish ful thinking and trials will scare Russia? If they were hot air ballons then the MOD is sorted so much long winded going no where hot air statements over the past 15 months will keep them topped up.
As I read on Twitter yesterday….if a military were judged by the amount of hot air coming out of politicians mouths and program announcements, we would dominate the world.
Agreed, F all to show for any thing. Are the MOD or government saving money by just not ordering any thing new, no rush after all the crazed CDS keeps saying war with Russia and does nothing, state normal. Our army is a joke hard to say that but its true.
I would never go that far mate.
Our military, including the Army, is well trained, professional, well regarded, well equipped in many areas, able to operate with the US, with a logistic tail to match and ability to deploy where many other nations military sit on the tarmac shiny and looking good.
We remain a nuclear power, an intelligence power, a Cyber power, and a Special Forces power.
What we lack is mass and any sort of reserve, and the cracks are widening as governments simply refuse to agree that mass is a factor and try to address this and kit continues to be cut and not replaced. Or just happily given away.
So no, the Army is not a joke, overall. But, yes, you could say the RA having only 14 SPG is a joke, for a nation of our standing. But that is not the fault of the Army.
Hoping for 80 to 100 RCH155. Anything else is a bonus.
Subject to rising Inflation, the cost’s will be out of this world sky high.
This was announced by MOD in July as having been undertaken “earlier in the year”, so maybe a little late to be newsworthy in October, despite the MP’s question. Which prompts the question why did he ask it when ten seconds Googling would bring up the July announcement.
However, the good news story makes a pleasant change from the trials a couple of years ago in Hawaii, where two Sierra Nevada balloons that were supposed to fly from Hawaii to the east Coast of the US, separately crashed into the Pacific each in less than a day after taking off, neither recoverable. I don’t recall that being announced in the UK at all (full story was covered by Hawaiian press). MOD cut the payload requirements to 3kg and tried again using balloons from Aerostat (of Soux Falls, South Dakota) along with a couple of UK firms, Voltitude and Landguard Systems.
Where Project Aether will go is still up for graps, given there’s still a couple of fixed-wing designs in the frame. I hope that they can return to a higher payload off the back of this success.
What happens when the balloon goes up’?
Well if it did, we’d be screwed.
“further analysis of the data collected during the South Dakota trials will inform future development and potential operational concepts ”
So, no orders, the usual informing decisions, sometime, maybe.
An RAF Balloon Squadron would be a novel, and fine thing.
Meanwhile, someone is flying high altitude recc balloons all over North America, you assume China.
If they are so good, send it to Ukraine so they can monitor the Russians. They would be shot down immediately, so what exactly is the point of these ?
The ones over the US were not shot down easily.
And I assume such a thing has a minimal RCS, and very little IR source, as no hot engine intakes.
So how do you target it if it is sitting at 90,000 feet 100 miles behind the FEBA?
Genuine question.