Armed forces are using 18th-century technology to spy on enemies
High-altitude balloons are surprisingly useful in modern conflicts
SOLDIERS ON MANOEUVRES do relish a “sinking exercise”: the blowing up of a clapped-out warship as target practice. And during Valiant Shield 2024, a wargame in the Pacific, many witnessed a first-of-its-kind scuppering. A stratospheric balloon carrying what were described as “electromagnetic spectrum sensors” helped guide the American army’s new Precision Strike Missile into a moving vessel.
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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Not hot air”
From the October 4th 2025 edition
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A portent of death may have helped create life
Marsh spirits seem to be created by a miniature version of lightning
Restocking an African lake may ameliorate a debilitating plague
Catfish eat the snails in which the parasite lives
A new technique can turn a woman’s skin cells into eggs
But improved fertility treatment is still far away
Are red-light face masks worth the hype?
Used properly, the right ones can help combat the signs of ageing
People are using big data to try to predict Nobel laureates
Come back next month to see if they were right
A clever genetic technique may treat a horrible brain condition
It stops the toxic protein that causes it from forming