美国陆军正寻求扩大高空气球的使用，因为该军种正在近地和外太空地区建设其能力。这些气球在平流层运行，大约在地球上方6万至10万英尺的高度，处于传统飞机飞行区域和卫星轨道之间的空间。陆军官员表示，他们看到了利用气球在战场附近提供类似卫星的监视和通信能力的机会。陆军太空与导弹防御司令部司令约翰·拉弗蒂中将表示，他最初对这项技术持怀疑态度。
The US Army is looking to expand its use of high-altitude balloons as the service builds out its capabilities near and in outer space. These balloons operate in the stratosphere, roughly 60,000 to 100,000 feet above Earth, the space in between where conventional aircraft fly and satellites. Army officials say they see an opportunity to use the balloons to deliver satellite-like surveillance and communication capabilities closer to the battlefield. Lt. Gen. John Rafferty, commander of Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said he was initially skeptical of the technology.
他回忆说，当时在陆军未来司令部服役时，他曾听到关于使用高空气球的提议，并质疑它们是否能证明其实用性。然而，他在一次训练演习中看到气球能够保持位置并进行高空监视后，他的看法发生了改变。“我看到它们实际行动后，从完全不相信很快变成了坚定的支持者，”拉弗蒂在本周于华盛顿特区举行的美国陆军协会（AUSA）大会上说道。
He recalled hearing proposals to use high-altitude balloons while serving in what was then Army Futures Command and questioning whether they'd prove practical. The general's view, however, changed after he saw the balloons hold their positions and conduct high-altitude surveillance during a training exercise. "I went from nowhere to a huge believer very quickly once I saw them in action," Rafferty said at this week's Association of the United States Army conference in Washington, DC.
陆军正在探索多种气球系统，以适应不同任务，从监视和通信到支持远程打击。负责将新兴空间能力融入陆军行动的转型整合空间优势局局长约瑟夫·莫尔什奇克上校在AUSA大会上表示，他希望建立一个“平流层系统家族”。与卫星不同，卫星在轨道上沿固定路径运行，高空气球可以利用不同的风流进行机动或在感兴趣区域上方保持存在，他说。
The Army is exploring a range of balloon systems for different missions, from surveillance and communications to supporting long-range strikes. Col. Joseph Mroszczyk, who oversees the efforts to integrate emerging space capabilities into Army operations as the director of Transformation Integration Space Superiority, said at AUSA that he wants a "family of stratospheric systems." Unlike satellites, which travel set paths in orbit, high-altitude balloons can exploit different wind currents to maneuver or maintain a presence over an area of interest, he said.
莫尔什奇克表示，陆军可以利用有利的风流，将携带传感器、通信设备或支援打击任务有效载荷的气球定位到所需位置。“这使我们能够提供类似太空的能力，真正利用通常被认为是航空层和空间领域之间的过渡点，”他说。
Mroszczyk said the Army could use favorable winds to position balloons carrying sensors, communications equipment, or payloads supporting strikes. "What that enables us to provide is space-like capabilities, really exploiting a transition point between what is normally considered the aerial layer and the space domain," he said.
在高空运行可以让陆军在不完全依赖卫星或常规飞机的情况下，从平流层获得对广大区域的持续覆盖。陆军计划在未来一年内开展多项涉及不同平流层系统的实验，以此为基础，延续在欧洲和太平洋地区进行的测试。一位陆军高级官员本周早些时候向《突防》透露，陆军还曾在中东的作战行动中尝试使用该技术。这些努力是在去年取消原计划在印太地区进行的大规模气球演示之后展开的。
Operating at those altitudes could give the Army persistent coverage across large areas from the stratosphere without relying exclusively on satellites or conventional aircraft. The Army plans to conduct multiple experiments involving various stratospheric systems over the coming year, building on tests conducted in Europe and the Pacific. The service has also experimented with the technology alongside combat operations in the Middle East, a senior Army official told Breaking Defense earlier this week. Those efforts followed the cancellation of a large-scale balloon demonstration planned for the Indo-Pacific last year.
随着陆军在太空和近太空作战中的角色不断扩大，地面部队对基于空间的导航、通信和情报能力的依赖日益增加，高空气球的兴趣也随之增长。
The growing interest in high-altitude balloons comes as the Army expands its role in space and near-space operations, with ground forces increasingly reliant on space-based capabilities for navigation, communications, and intelligence.