, 26 June 1794, saw the first military use of an aircraft (''L'Entreprenant''). The first military use of observation balloons was by the
French Aerostatic Corps during the
French Revolutionary Wars, the very first time during the
Battle of Fleurus (1794). The oldest preserved observation balloon, ''
L'Intrépide'', is on display in a
Vienna museum. They were also used by both sides during the
American Civil War (1861–65) and continued in use during the
Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). Balloons were first deployed by the British Army's
Royal Engineers during the expeditions to
Bechuanaland in 1884 and
Suakin in 1885. They were also deployed during the
Second Boer War (1899–1902), where they were used in artillery observation at the
Battle of Magersfontein and during the
Siege of Ladysmith. In South America, a reconnaissance balloon was deployed by
Brazil in July 1867 during the
Paraguayan War. at
Équancourt (September 1916). The rear "tail" fills with air automatically through an opening facing the wind. , used by the Allies in the mid-latter part of WWI in
World War I World War I was the high point for the military use of observation balloons, which were extensively deployed by both sides. Artillery had developed to the point where it could engage targets beyond a ground-based observer's visual range. Positioning
artillery observers on balloons, generally a few miles behind the front lines and at altitude, allowed them to see targets at greater range than they could on the ground. This allowed the artillery to take advantage of its increased range. Despite their experience in late 1800s Africa, the British were behind developments and were still using spherical balloons. These were quickly replaced by more advanced types, known as
kite balloons, which were
aerodynamically shaped to be stable and could operate in more
extreme weather conditions. The Germans first developed the
Parseval-Siegsfeld type balloon, and the French soon responded with the
Caquot type. Because of their importance as observation platforms, balloons were defended by
anti-aircraft guns, groups of
machine guns for low altitude defence and patrolling
fighter aircraft. Attacking a balloon was risky, but some pilots relished the challenge. The most successful were known as
balloon busters, including such notables as Belgium's
Willy Coppens, Germany's
Friedrich Ritter von Röth, America's
Frank Luke, and the Frenchmen
Léon Bourjade,
Michel Coiffard and
Maurice Boyau. Many expert balloon busters were careful not to go below to avoid exposure to anti-aircraft and machine guns. World War I observation crews were the first to use parachutes, long before they were adopted by
fixed wing aircrews. These were a primitive type, where the main part was in a bag suspended from the balloon, with the pilot only wearing a simple body harness around his waist, with lines from the harness attached to the main parachute in the bag. When the balloonist jumped, the main part of the parachute was pulled from the bag, with the shroud lines first, followed by the main canopy. This type of parachute was adopted by the Germans and later by the British and French for their observation balloon crews. The Red Army of the Soviet Union used observation balloons for artillery spotting. Eight aeronautical sections existed, and 19,985 observation flights were performed by balloonists of the Red Army during the Second World War, clocking up 20,126 flight hours. 110 Soviet observation balloons were lost. Observation balloons also played a role during the
Cold War; for example,
Project Mogul used high-altitude observation balloons to monitor Soviet nuclear tests, while
Project Genetrix used similar balloons to photograph the Soviet Union and China. Unlike previous observation balloons, these balloons were unmanned, ejecting their film to be
recovered in midair by specially modified aircraft. However, heavier-than-air craft now perform the vast majority of operations.
Aerostats were used by US and coalition military forces in
Iraq and in
Afghanistan. From late January to early February 2023, a
balloon originating from China was spotted in United States airspace. The Chinese government claimed it was a weather balloon, while the United States government claimed it was a spy balloon. On June 29, 2023,
Patrick S. Ryder, a DoD Spokesperson, said in a press conference that the balloon did not collect/transmit while it was transiting/flying over the United States and US military efforts contributed to the block. In an interview aired on
CBS News Sunday Morning on Sep 17, 2023,
Mark Milley told
David Martin that the balloon was not spying and it was a high confidence assessment by the
United States Intelligence Community that there was no intelligence collection and transmission by the balloon. ==Notable programs==