Our country is in a full-blown political panic about China's not-a-spy-balloon, but we should just relax. After all, Americans spy by balloon all the time.
The high-altitude balloons promise a cheap monitoring platform The US military is conducting wide-area surveillance tests across six midwest states using experimental high-altitude balloons, documents filed with the Federal Communications.
Commercial drone use is exploding in the United States, particularly with city, county, and state governments. These systems offer shorter response times, greater utility, and markedly lower costs to acquire and operate than manned helicopters. Moreover, the technology and associated capabilities are advancing so rapidly that even facial recognition is now included in many off-the-shelf systems.