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ABC News
ABC News
National
Tim Callanan

How Australia helped the US keep tabs on its nuclear rivals through a secret balloon program

United States Australia Victoria
The HIBAL balloon program based out of Mildura helped the US keep tabs on its nuclear weapons rivals. (Mildura Rural City Council)

For those with a keen mind for history, the recent Chinese spy balloon controversy may have reawakened some distant memories of Australia's Cold War-era balloon program.

While it was officially "secret", everyone knew about it.

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