As discussed further down, kites were indeed seen as useful for the military in the late 19th century. Wikipedia says[0] > In the early 1890s, Captain B.F.S B

As discussed further down, kites were indeed seen as useful for the military in the late 19th century. Wikipedia says[0] > In the early 1890s, Captain B.F.S Baden-Powell ... developed his "Levitor" kite, a hexagonal-shaped kite intended to be used by the army in order to lift a man for aerial observation or for lifting large loads such as a wireless antenna. A glider may not have been suitable for carrying an antenna, but aerial observation via glider is an idea that must have occurred to people in the army, even before the invention of the IC engine. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-lifting_kite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-lifting_kite