The idea has already been tried, sort of, in a VERY primative form. During WWII, the Japanese sent aloft thousands of balloons carrying high-explosive payloads. They would get caught in the prevailing winds high above the Pacific Ocean, and travel the 6,000 or so miles to the west coast of North America--in one case, a bomb managed to make it to Detroit.
As a matter of fact, one of these balloon attacks caused the only civilian casualties in North America during the entire war. Now, for thousands of balloons, that's not a very good record, but with some kind of guidance system, the relatively low cost and incredibly long range might make it worthwhile.
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The idea has already been tried, sort of, in a VERY primative form. During WWII, the Japanese sent aloft thousands of balloons carrying high-explosive payloads. They would get caught in the prevailing winds high above the Pacific Ocean, and travel the 6,000 or so miles to the west coast of North America--in one case, a bomb managed to make it to Detroit. As a matter of fact, one of these balloon attacks caused the only civilian casualties in North America during the entire war. Now, for thousands of balloons, that's not a very good record, but with some kind of guidance system, the relatively low cost and incredibly long range might make it worthwhile.