Balloons raised observers above a ship's mast but remained position-bound and easy to target. Their height improved sight, but the tether restricted movement and made the observation system conspicuous. A modern tethered radar or drone can similarly extend the radar horizon and maintain a continuous data link. It also inherits the balloon's basic vulnerability by advertising a valuable surveillance node that an opponent will try to destroy first.
Notable Point · 31:11-32:43
Tethered sensors repeat the balloon carrier tradeoff
Raising radar on a tether improves the horizon but creates a conspicuous, vulnerable sensor much like an earlier observation balloon.