The Army is simulating high-altitude balloon flights in Japan this month as part of a plan to expand intelligence gathering in the Indo-Pacific region.

The 1st Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, participating in this month’s Orient Shield exercise alongside Japanese troops on the northern island of Hokkaido, has been experimenting with balloons, according to battalion commander Lt. Col. Joseph Mroszczyk.

“We’re the only force structure in the Army that has high-altitude people whose job it is to operate these capabilities,” he told Stars and Stripes on Saturday at Camp Zama, home of U.S. Army Japan outside Tokyo.

Balloon operations are only being simulated during Orient Shield, which began Sept. 14 and ends Saturday, but the battalion’s high-altitude platoon has actually launched them in the United States, Mroszczyk said.

The battalion, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., has flown several types of balloons to “extend the [sensor] network depth,” he said, adding that high-altitude operations take place between 60,000 and 100,000 feet.

Balloons aren’t new to the battlefield, he said, noting the historic use of the aircraft as military observation platforms.

Small, modern balloons tested by the military can be deployed without much effort.

The trick is to launch them from the right place to take advantage of the wind, Mroszczyk said.

In February, Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced that balloons spotted over the country between 2019 and 2021 were presumed to have been Chinese spy craft.

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