[News in War History] 'Chinese Balloon Over the US'... Japan Launched Bomb Balloons 80 Years Ago

The Origin of Drones: 'Balloon Bombs' Introduced in 1849
Mainly Used for Training and Reconnaissance After World War I
Emerged as a Key Weapon After the 2010s Middle East Civil Wars

Editor's Note[News in War History] is a content created to provide multifaceted perspectives on the constantly unfolding war and conflict news worldwide. Through 'News,' we first understand the current situation; through 'History,' we analyze the hidden meanings behind the news; and we also offer the 'Implication' of the near future together.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Ukraine war, which was initially expected to end in three days, has now lasted nearly a year. Since last autumn, as the Russian and Ukrainian forces prepared for winter, the frontlines have become stagnant and quiet, but airstrikes on rear areas have intensified.

The weapon leading these airstrikes is the 'Drone.' With the prolonged war depleting Russia's missile supplies, it is now deploying large numbers of so-called 'suicide drones'?small bombs attached to drones imported from Iran?into Ukrainian urban areas. Civilian casualties from these attacks are snowballing.

In December last year, Ukrainian troops are launching reconnaissance drones near Bakhmut, a fierce battleground with Russian forces. Bakhmut=AP·Yonhap News

These drones are often used interchangeably with UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), but they actually have slightly different meanings. UAVs broadly refer to any aircraft that is not piloted by a human. Drones fall under the category of UAVs. Not only drones but also fighter jets or helicopters operating under autonomous control systems are considered UAVs.

Among these UAVs, drones originally referred to radio-controlled aircraft used as training targets by air force pilots in the 1930s. The word 'drone' literally means 'male bee.' The term became established when the U.S. military, inspired by the British 'Queen Bee' training aircraft developed in 1935, collectively called such radio-controlled planes 'drones.'

Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister, attending the commissioning ceremony of the Queen Bee drone, a radio-controlled drone developed in the UK in 1935.
[Image source: Imperial War Museum (IWM), UK]

Now, drones have become a headline weapon frequently appearing in main articles related to the Ukraine war. They are perceived as advanced weapons leading the so-called 'Hybrid War' of the 21st century, which refers to complex warfare.

However, if we expand the dictionary definition of drones to include all ground-attack UAVs, the actual history of drones is much longer. The world's first war drone is said to be the 'Balloon Bomb' used in the mid-19th century. Of course, from that time until very recently, drones were not weapons that shook the battlefield as they do today.

After playing a supporting role in wars for over 170 years, drones have suddenly become a main actor. In the 21st century, where all kinds of advanced weapons abound, how did these relatively simple and inexpensive drones establish themselves as major weapons on the battlefield?

News: US Sanctions Iranian Companies Exporting Drones to Russia

The image shows a Russian military kamikaze drone for airstrikes, revealed by the Ukrainian military in September last year. It is known as the Iranian Shahed-136 drone imported by Russia from Iran. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Let's first look at news that reflects the current status of drones. According to Voice of America (VOA) on the 1st (local time), the U.S. Department of Commerce announced export restrictions on seven Iranian entities that produced drones used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine.

Earlier, on the 26th of last month, Russia launched airstrikes across Ukraine, including Kyiv, using Iranian-made drones. It is reported that 11 people died in Ukraine due to these airstrikes.

Ironically, Iran, which exports drones to Russia, was also hit by drone attacks. According to the BBC, on the 29th of last month, the Iranian Ministry of Defense announced that a military equipment production facility in Isfahan Province, south of Tehran, was attacked by suicide drones. Israel's military is suspected to be behind the attack.

Ukraine is also producing drones to counterattack Russia. According to CNN, Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's Defense Minister, wrote on his Facebook account that "this year, we will spend $545 million (about 670 billion KRW) on purchasing drones and UAVs." Despite severe financial difficulties, Ukraine is sparing no expense in acquiring drones, which have become essential on the battlefield.

History: Originating from the 'Balloon Bomb' Used in the 1849 Siege of Venice

An illustration depicting the appearance of balloon bombs used by the Austrian army during the Siege of Venice in July 1849. [Image source= Science Photo Library]

The drone, which now headlines news from conflict zones worldwide, was first used in combat in 1849?174 years ago.

Searching for 'History of Drone' on Google or other search engines reveals records of the world's first drone used by Austrian forces attacking Venice, Italy, in July 1849. There is an illustration showing many balloons floating over the town; these balloons are the first drones, called 'Balloon Bombs.'

Records about these balloon bombs can be found in the 2016 book 'The Future of Drone Use' published by the TMC Asser Institute, an international law research organization in the Netherlands. The book details how these balloon bombs were used at the time.

When Venice, then under Austrian rule, experienced an independence movement in 1848, Austrian forces were dispatched to suppress it. The general leading this suppression unit, Franz von Uchatius, is said to have devised these balloon bombs.

Then, as now, Venice, known as the city of water, was difficult to besiege or bombard due to its city-wide network of canals and a harbor connected to the Mediterranean Sea. To demoralize the Venetian defenders, General Uchatius loaded warships with balloon bombs and sailed out to sea, then launched bombs attached to balloons over the city in the world's first air raid operation.

The bombs attached to the balloons weighed about 11 to 14 kg and were designed as time bombs to explode approximately 30 minutes after release. This timing was calculated based on numerous ground tests, considering that it took about 20 to 30 minutes for balloons launched near the coast to reach Venice city. It is said that as many as 200 balloon bombs were launched.

However, General Uchatius's balloon drone did not significantly change the course of the battle. During the operation, the wind direction changed, and only one bomb entered the city, causing little damage. Still, the advantage of no troop losses and no risk of counterattack was highlighted.

The appearance of the balloon bombs that Japan sent to the United States in 1944. [Image source: U.S. Army website]

This balloon bomb drone idea was later reused by Japan during World War II in 1944. From November 1944 to April 1945, the Japanese military launched 9,300 bombs attached to balloons toward California, of which about 300 actually reached the U.S., causing six casualties.

As for drones as general UAVs rather than suicide attack weapons, they were widely used for air force training. According to the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in the UK, the first airplane-type drone was created in 1917 during World War I, using a method similar to today's radio-controlled (RC) planes.

Typically, drones served as targets for new recruits' shooting practice, reconnaissance, or as decoys to lure enemy fire, so they were not weapons that attracted much attention on the battlefield. Especially, after Nazi Germany developed the V-2 rocket in 1944, drones lost their status as airstrike weapons as missiles took over.

Implication: Drones at the Pinnacle of 21st Century 'Hybrid Warfare'

The image shows a cruise missile that crashed near Kyiv during Russia's airstrike on Ukraine on the 26th of last month. As the war prolongs and most missile stocks are depleted, the Russian military is using old Soviet missiles with warheads removed, leading to an increase in unexploded ordnance. Kyiv=Reuters·Yonhap News

Drones, which had played supporting roles in major wars, began to be recognized as primary attack weapons from the 2010s. With the emergence of advanced missile defense systems like the U.S. Missile Defense (MD) and Russia's S-300 and S-400, the value of drones was reaffirmed. Ground attacks using bombers or air-to-ground cruise missiles were all blocked by these defense systems, so smaller, more agile drones that could exploit gaps gained prominence.

In particular, drones played a significant role in the simultaneous civil wars across the Middle East following the so-called 'Arab Spring' that began in Tunisia in December 2010, spreading throughout the region including Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The global spotlight on drone airstrike capabilities came after the Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked Saudi Arabia's largest oil facility, the Abqaiq refinery, with drones in September 2019.

At that time, the Yemeni Houthi rebels struck the Abqaiq oil facility with dozens of drones with a range of 700 km, and the Saudi air defense network failed to effectively repel these drones, causing a worldwide drone shock.

In September 2019, the Abqaiq refinery, the largest oil refining facility in Saudi Arabia, was engulfed in a massive fire following a suicide drone attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Saudi Arabia, which has an annual defense budget exceeding $50 billion (about 61 trillion KRW) and is the world's largest arms importer, was equipped with U.S.-purchased Patriot air defense systems but could not stop the Iranian-made drones fired by the Houthi rebels. The Patriot missiles cost over $1 million each, while the Iranian drones cost about $20,000 each, yet the drones were not intercepted.

Russia is also known to have actively used drones in airstrike operations during the Syrian civil war, which has continued since 2014. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff overseeing Russian forces on the Ukrainian front, has been rotating key officers commanding regional and brigade-level units through Syria since 2015, focusing on training the military in the use of suicide drones and UAV ground airstrikes. This has led to the current drone airstrikes occurring in Ukraine.

Ultimately, drones are expected to continue gaining attention on future battlefields due to their excellent cost-effectiveness. The way changing times create niche markets that rapidly transform the status of products applies equally to both commercial markets and battlefields.