• China’s high-altitude balloon program is linked to the military’s hypersonic missile program, and a new command for both systems is prepared to conduct “merciless” attacks in a conflict with the United States, according to a Chinese defense research report.
• The report by a group of researchers at the National University of Defense Technology states that the military set up a command for hypersonic missiles and high-altitude balloons, such as the suspected surveillance balloon shot down in February off the South Carolina coast by an Air Force jet fighter after traversing much of the continental U.S.
• The report, “Near Space Operations Command,” made public during a Beijing conference on command and control in October, said the new operations command will direct hypersonic missiles against heavily protected targets, including communications equipment and hubs in the heartland of an adversary.

Tagged: Balloons