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    Militaries have sought to use spy balloons for centuries. The real enemy is the wind

    by Geoff Brumfiel Feb 17, 2023 4 minutes
    During the U.S. Civil War, observation balloons were used by the Union Army. They occasionally blew away, and sometimes blew back again.

    The U.S. government is increasingly convinced that an alleged Chinese spy balloon was thousands of miles off of its intended course.

    An official, speaking on condition of anonymity on Thursday, told NPR that the government now suspects the spy balloon was supposed to surveil Guam and Hawaii, but end up flying over Alaska, Canada and eventually, the rest of the continental United States.

    According to the official, the probable cause of the course deviation was one of the oldest foes faced by military balloons: the wind.

    The balloon was first spotted over Montana on Feb. 1. The U.S. military tracked it as it drifted across the country before an F-22 Raptor that it was an "unmanned civilian airship."

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