Ukrainian military balloons may spoil Russia’s party

Reports suggest some are being used to launch drones

Balloons were applied to warfare in Europe shortly after their invention in France in 1783. (Chinese “sky lanterns” are far older, but are not known to have carried people.) They were used as observation posts and later, in the guise of tethered “aerostats”, as anti-aircraft devices. Latterly, China has employed them to spy on Taiwan, and Israel to keep an eye on Lebanon. America’s armed forces are taking an interest, too. But perhaps the most active practitioner is Ukraine.

Recently, Ukraine has tested a twist on this last approach by using balloons actually to carry drones, and thus extend the range of the drone strikes that are doing so much damage to Russian infrastructure. (Reuters)

Ukraine has used balloons from the start of its war with Russia. In May it was reported that the country has launched over 1,000 of them into Russian territory since last autumn. They can drop bombs, distract air defences and act as radio relays, passing commands to drones that would otherwise be out of range.

Recently, Ukraine has tested a twist on this last approach by using balloons actually to carry drones, and thus extend the range of the drone strikes that are doing so much damage to Russian infrastructure. If winds are favourable, a balloon can both lift a drone partway to its target and, that done, launch it from altitude (up to 18km high), allowing it to glide yet further before it needs to switch on its engines.

It looks as though Ukraine has been working on this taxi service for well over a year. In March 2025 a picture emerged of a drone dangling from an aerostat made by a Ukrainian firm. In September Russian Telegram accounts and officials reported that a large number of balloons had been spotted around the time of deep drone attacks. And this May Ukrainian soldiers reportedly employed a balloon to carry an American-made Hornet drone about 42km before releasing it at a height of 8km.

Sources say the drone in question used up only 5% of its battery for electronic housekeeping during the balloon’s transit, leaving it almost fully charged for the mission. A ground-launched Hornet’s range is around 150km. Adding a balloon reportedly doubles that distance.

At the moment, balloons are designed to carry only lighter drones, such as the Hornet, which are not fully autonomous. But if the drone-carrying balloon is fitted out as a relay, that will not matter.

The Russians, too, are experimenting with balloons, but prevailing winds are against them. For Ukraine, the sky’s the limit. For Russia, it’s a blow.