On the night of October 30 to 31, 2024, the BalMan maneuvering balloon, a high-altitude aerostat developed by Hemeria under the direction of the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES), successfully completed its maiden flight test.
Conducted from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), the test validated the balloon’s stratospheric envelope reliability and flight safety systems.
The BalMan project is supported by the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) and CNES, with additional funding from Hemeria.
“The success of this first flight of the BalMan maneuvering balloon once again highlights France’s exceptional know-how in the field of aerostats,” Caroline Laurent, Director of Orbital Systems and Applications at CNES, commented.
The balloon is designed to overcome traditional dependence on wind currents, allowing for controlled and prolonged positioning over specific geographic areas. Operators can guide the BalMan horizontally by leveraging wind currents at different altitudes, enabling precise movement and station-keeping for extended periods.
This capability would represent a strategic advantage for applications in defense, meteorology, and disaster monitoring. Potential uses include wildfire and volcanic eruption monitoring, as well as Earth observation and space science research.
A second flight, scheduled for 2025, will focus on testing the balloon’s maneuverability and payload capacity, reaching up to 50 kilograms (110 pounds). These trials will pave the way for BalMan’s operational deployment.
High-altitude balloons: A strategic comeback in modern defense
Using balloons for observation is not a recent development. In the 18th century, the French military employed the inventions of the Montgolfier brothers to monitor battlefields during the French Revolutionary Wars. However, this practice fell out of favor in the early 20th century with the advancement of aviation technology.
The BalMan project emerged during a renewed interest in high-altitude balloons, following global events that highlighted their strategic potential. On January 28, 2023, a Chinese stratospheric balloon flew over sensitive US military installations, including strategic ballistic missile bases. The balloon was ultimately intercepted and destroyed by an F-22A Raptor near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, using an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. Debris analysis confirmed its use for espionage, though the Pentagon stated it had not transmitted data back to China.