Army Expands High-Altitude Balloon Swarm Experiment with NORAD and Coast Guard Support

The US Army is planning a high-altitude balloon swarm experiment in the Indo-Pacific region, with the help of NORAD and the US Coast Guard. The experiment, part of the Swarming Worldwide Autonomous Reconnaissance in the Multi-domain System (SWARMS) program, will use multiple balloons to gather intel and test the effectiveness of a dispersed, attritable intel-gathering tool. The Army is still fleshing out details for the $3.5 million experiment, but plans to launch the balloons within 1,000 miles of Hawaii. The experiment is expected to demonstrate the feasibility of such a strategy in a real-world scenario.