Why Pearl Harbor's barrage balloons were not aloft

Did the US Navy have barrage balloons at Pearl Harbor?

Yes, but they were not deployed because the base was still treated as being at peace.

Pearl Harbor possessed barrage balloons, but they were not raised before the Japanese attack. The stated rationale was that the United States remained formally at peace. That explanation is unconvincing during a period of high tension when the base was an obvious target. Barrage balloons are inherently defensive and could not themselves attack another state. Deploying them would therefore have complicated a low-level air attack without creating a credible offensive provocation.