When you think of air power, your thoughts may first go to fighter jets. Combat “Heavies” like the C-17 also come to mind. But in 1956, balloons were also an important and strategic part of our military capabilities.
The program was known as Project Genetrix. The United States Air Force designed the program to launch General Mills manufactured surveillance balloons over Communist China, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union to take aerial photographs and collect intelligence. This was the first espionage use of the balloons that had been tested in previous projects. The Genetrix balloons reached altitudes of 50,000 - 100,000 freet (15 - 30km), well above that flown by contemporary fighter planes and were able to return photography of more than 1.1 million square miles (more than 2.8 million square km). These top-secret high-altitude balloons are also believed to have accounted for many of the UFO sightings that started around the mid-20th century. Eventually the U-2 spy plane would be developed to replace the Genetrix balloons.
| Date Taken: | 10.29.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.29.2020 06:18 |
| Photo ID: | 6406531 |
| VIRIN: | 201029-F-GK113-003 |
| Resolution: | 1350x1080 |
| Size: | 1.51 MB |
| Location: | SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 800 |
| Downloads: | 16 |
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