Hydrogen is a more common choice than helium for unmanned balloons. Only 12 of 101 weather balloon launch sites operated by the US's national weather service use helium[1], and that's with unusually cheap helium access in the US. I would expect other countries to use helium even less frequently.
> GEN. VANHERCK: Yeah, absolutely. There was a warhead in the missile. You can see that explosion on TV as it goes through the lower part of the balloon and right there through the superstructure.
Hydrogen is a more common choice than helium for unmanned balloons. Only 12 of 101 weather balloon launch sites operated by the US's national weather service use helium[1], and that's with unusually cheap helium access in the US. I would expect other countries to use helium even less frequently.
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/04/04/weather-ba...