More than 9,000 Japanese balloon bombs were launched during World War II via the jet stream with the intention of causing mass disruption and forest fires in the American West. These bombs caused the only fatalities on the US mainland due to enemy action during the war.13 Japan experimented with balloon bombs as early as 1933, but they were not seriously considered until after the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942.

I’m wondering if the DS is now getting us conditioned to seeing balloons, and seeing them as non-lethal. With the CCP getting cozy down in Cuba, it would be relatively easy to send a few over to Florida and Texas. https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-balloon-bombs-targeted-the-us-during-wwii-2020-8