Is there a way to get a close look at that thing without bringing it it down?

https://www.aol.com/news/repub...rance-181337057.html

I recall as a kid about 65 years ago we would see balloon like objects high in the sky of the time during the summer. I don't recall anything other than that they were referred to simply as weather balloons.

Why would the Chinese use a spy balloon when satellites are much more efficient and already in place ? I'm thinking weather balloon, wouldn't be a first.

Grizz

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
Why would the Chinese use a spy balloon when satellites are much more efficient and already in place ? I'm thinking weather balloon, wouldn't be a first.

Grizz

Good question; we don't go around shooting down satellites, eh?

I suppose avoid suspicion by doing the obvious might be a reason, but balloons are so passe.

Is it Chinese?

quote:

Originally posted by Kanec:
Is it Chinese?

We've been told that it is.

If it's unmanned, I'd shoot it down immediately.

If manned, force it down.

quote:

Originally posted by RolandtheHeadless:
If it's unmanned, I'd shoot it down immediately.

If manned, force it down.

Biden can't do it. Xi would cut off hunters child support. Then he would call home swalwell's girlfriend and Feinstein driver. UPenn would lose all their funding and Wal-Mart would go broke!


.

Don't you remember when Shrub was president and the Chinese forced down one of our spy planes? Then they took the plane apart and reverse-engineered it.

Tit for tat.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:

quote:

Originally posted by RolandtheHeadless:
If it's unmanned, I'd shoot it down immediately.

If manned, force it down.

Biden can't do it. Xi would cut off hunters child support. Then he would call home swalwell's girlfriend and Feinstein driver. UPenn would lose all their funding and Wal-Mart would go broke!


.

I don't get it. Why in the world wouldn't our air force shoot it down, claim total ignorance, eventually "find out" which pilot was the culprit, severely reprimand them and then 18 months from now promote them to general and name a base after them?

We can't shoot down a balloon in our airspace?

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:

quote:

Originally posted by RolandtheHeadless:
If it's unmanned, I'd shoot it down immediately.

If manned, force it down.

Biden can't do it. Xi would cut off hunters child support. Then he would call home swalwell's girlfriend and Feinstein driver. UPenn would lose all their funding and Wal-Mart would go broke!


.

I don't get it. Why in the world wouldn't our air force shoot it down, claim total ignorance, eventually "find out" which pilot was the culprit, severely reprimand them and then 18 months from now promote them to general and name a base after them?

We can't shoot down a balloon in our airspace?

We can, but we're choosing not to.

Imagine what Cadet Bone Spur would have done?

Almost guaranteed^^^small particles would be littering the Montana landscape.

I have to think that it is at the right altitude for an EMP and the US doesn't know what it's purpose actually is.

The DOD is over a barrel.
Shoot it down and risk a possible detonation or allow it to drift and hope it actually is a floating weather station.

That's the only plausible explanation as to why it hasn't been taken down that I can see.

And if they shoot it down over Montana and a piece of debris hits, and kills, a Grizzly Bear (Or God Forbid a Wolf)?

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Imagine what Cadet Bone Spur would have done?

NOTHING. Apparently at least 2 were spotted in our airspace during his time in office, but there is nothing to indicate that he ordered them shot down. So MTG go fuck yourself.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/chi...ected-051931321.html

""Spy balloons aren't new — primitive ones date back centuries, but they came into greater use in World War II. Administration officials said Friday there have been other similar incidents of Chinese spy balloons, with one saying it happened twice during the Trump administration but was never made public.""

What if they're full of anthrax?

quote:

Originally posted by ANTELOPEDUNDEE:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Imagine what Cadet Bone Spur would have done?

NOTHING. Apparently at least 2 were spotted in our airspace during his time in office, but there is nothing to indicate that he ordered them shot down. So MTG go fuck yourself.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/chi...ected-051931321.html

""Spy balloons aren't new — primitive ones date back centuries, but they came into greater use in World War II. Administration officials said Friday there have been other similar incidents of Chinese spy balloons, with one saying it happened twice during the Trump administration but was never made public.""

From your cited article:

"Administration officials said Friday there have been other similar incidents of Chinese spy balloons, with one saying it happened twice during the Trump administration but was never made public.

The Pentagon's Ryder confirmed there have been other incidents where balloons came close to or crossed over the U.S. border, but he and others agree that what makes this different is the length of time it's been over U.S. territory and how far into the country it penetrated."

Apples and oranges ADUNDEE.

"came close to or crossed" is a far cry from touring the interior of our country at will for days on end.

quote:

Originally posted by ANTELOPEDUNDEE:
https://www.businessinsider.co...than-it-seems-2023-2

I think that's mostly BS, particularly the worry of injuries from debris.

The fact that it is maneuvering is proof that it didn't "blow off course" and the lost opportunity to take it down when over Alaska and Canada, or Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas for that matter, is a tactical failure of immense proportion.

So what now?

China can easily terrorize the US by sending these "impossible to shoot down" balloons loaded with who knows what and we can't do a damn thing about it?

I stand by my assertion that we don't know whats on board and don't want to risk detonating a high altitude nuclear explosion. Just wait until it floats over the Eastern US. Boy, will we be in a pickle then!

This is very strange.
The Russians shot down a U2 likely flying higher than this balloon 60 yrs ago.
A plane does not have to fly that high.
Say it flies up to 30,000 feet. Fires a radar guided missile at the equipment the ballon is carrying. It should provide a great reflective target.
Missles have a solid propellant motor that does not require oxygen at high altitudes.
30,000' to 100,000' is approximately 14 miles.
Current generation air to air missiles can travel at least 60 miles.
A chip shot at a slow moving target.

quote:

Originally posted by ANTELOPEDUNDEE:
https://www.businessinsider.co...than-it-seems-2023-2

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
This is very strange.
The Russians shot down a U2 likely flying higher than this balloon 60 yrs ago.
A plane does not have to fly that high.
Say it flies up to 30,000 feet. Fires a radar guided missile at the equipment the ballon is carrying. It should provide a great reflective target.
Missles have a solid propellant motor that does not require oxygen at high altitudes.
30,000' to 100,000' is approximately 14 miles.
Current generation air to air missiles can travel at least 60 miles.
A chip shot at a slow moving target.

quote:

Originally posted by ANTELOPEDUNDEE:
https://www.businessinsider.co...than-it-seems-2023-2

If you shoot it down and can no longer deny it’s a stray Wx balloon, you’ve wasted its propaganda value.

As long as you let it float around you can continue to induce politically valuable outrage.

Every news outlet on the continent is referring to it numerous times a day as a “Chinese spy balloon” - as if that’s the pinnacle of spy technology. I’d suggest there’s more sophisticated and productive spyware in your cell phone.

quote:

Originally posted by eezridr:
This is very strange.
The Russians shot down a U2 likely flying higher than this balloon 60 yrs ago.
A plane does not have to fly that high.
Say it flies up to 30,000 feet. Fires a radar guided missile at the equipment the ballon is carrying. It should provide a great reflective target.
Missles have a solid propellant motor that does not require oxygen at high altitudes.
30,000' to 100,000' is approximately 14 miles.
Current generation air to air missiles can travel at least 60 miles.
A chip shot at a slow moving target.

quote:

Originally posted by ANTELOPEDUNDEE:
https://www.businessinsider.co...than-it-seems-2023-2

Maybe we should be ready to send up a balloon of ours and try to capture it.

quote:

Originally posted by Huvius:

quote:

Originally posted by ANTELOPEDUNDEE:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Imagine what Cadet Bone Spur would have done?

NOTHING. Apparently at least 2 were spotted in our airspace during his time in office, but there is nothing to indicate that he ordered them shot down. So MTG go fuck yourself.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/chi...ected-051931321.html

""Spy balloons aren't new — primitive ones date back centuries, but they came into greater use in World War II. Administration officials said Friday there have been other similar incidents of Chinese spy balloons, with one saying it happened twice during the Trump administration but was never made public.""

From your cited article:

"Administration officials said Friday there have been other similar incidents of Chinese spy balloons, with one saying it happened twice during the Trump administration but was never made public.

The Pentagon's Ryder confirmed there have been other incidents where balloons came close to or crossed over the U.S. border, but he and others agree that what makes this different is the length of time it's been over U.S. territory and how far into the country it penetrated."

Apples and oranges ADUNDEE.

"came close to or crossed" is a far cry from touring the interior of our country at will for days on end.

That's no assurance that trump would have ordered it shot down or even if his order would have been followed.


Hell even Sleepy Joe supposedly wanted it shot down but was persuaded to the contrary. Probably best to do what you can to neutralize it, but if it happens again.

quote:

That's no assurance that trump would have ordered it shot down or even if his order would have been followed.

Well, we'll never know then, will we...

Still, as I see it, a totally unacceptable situation we find ourselves in now.

quote:

Originally posted by Huvius:

quote:

That's no assurance that trump would have ordered it shot down or even if his order would have been followed.

Well, we'll never know then, will we...

Still, as I see it, a totally unacceptable situation we find ourselves in now.

Not now or hopefully no future chance that we will ever find out. Didn't he want to nuke some bad guys in Mexico?

You ninnies get your panties in a wad over the damnest things.

It’s a weather balloon. It may be maneuvering over the US to make a political statement, but satellite technology can answer their questions.

quote:

Originally posted by Schrodinger:
You ninnies get your panties in a wad over the damnest things.

It’s a weather balloon. It may be maneuvering over the US to make a political statement, but satellite technology can answer their questions.

You're clearly missing the point...
Satellites cannot answer all of their questions and balloons such as this can augment their capabilities.

https://time.com/6252673/chine...y-balloon-satellite/

If nothing else, the balloon has exposed a gaping vulnerability in the US defense apparatus.
It was first spotted by civilians on a commercial airliner for Pete's sake!
Now, tell me that's not a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by Schrodinger:
You ninnies get your panties in a wad over the damnest things.

It’s a weather balloon. It may be maneuvering over the US to make a political statement, but satellite technology can answer their questions.

Balloons maneuver at the vagaries of the wind; they have limited control of altitude but none of direction.

Never fear, if they want to snoop they have a lot better than Google Earth. They probably have satellites that can count the remaining hairs on your bald spot, they hardly need 17th century technology.

quote:

Originally posted by Schrodinger:
You ninnies get your panties in a wad over the damnest things.

It’s a weather balloon. It may be maneuvering over the US to make a political statement, but satellite technology can answer their questions.

Meh. China Joe doesn't want to offend his handlers.

Our govt knew about this thing and could have shot it down before it went over CONUS. They didn't.

If it's 'just' a weather balloon china coulda/shoulda called Beijing Joe and said sorry, Dude... Etc. They didn't, did they?

Pathetic.

quote:

Originally posted by Tumbleweed:

quote:

Originally posted by Schrodinger:
You ninnies get your panties in a wad over the damnest things.

It’s a weather balloon. It may be maneuvering over the US to make a political statement, but satellite technology can answer their questions.

Balloons maneuver at the vagaries of the wind; they have limited control of altitude but none of direction.

Never fear, if they want to snoop they have a lot better than Google Earth. They probably have satellites that can count the remaining hairs on your bald spot, they hardly need 17th century technology.

It's not at all about snooping, far from it.
They've established that they have a route to deliver an EMP weapon with little resistance. A dry run if you will.
As I noted before, it wasn't even the US military or DOD that first saw it.

Ann, I suggest you spend the next 24 hours fretting about this balloon. And, oh, you can start worrying about that Chinese balloon traveling over Costa Rica—I’m certain that it is spying on their nuke sites too.

quote:

If it's 'just' a weather balloon china coulda/shoulda called Beijing Joe and said sorry, Dude... Etc. They didn't, did they?

I don’t know, do you? Or is it just fun to propagate your myopic version of events with a callous disregard for facts?

quote:

Originally posted by Schrodinger:
Ann, I suggest you spend the next 24 hours fretting about this balloon. And, oh, you can start worrying about that Chinese balloon traveling over Costa Rica—I’m certain that it is spying on their nuke sites too.

And you don't think it's weird that China has so many errant balloons?

quote:

Originally posted by Huvius:

quote:

Originally posted by Schrodinger:
Ann, I suggest you spend the next 24 hours fretting about this balloon. And, oh, you can start worrying about that Chinese balloon traveling over Costa Rica—I’m certain that it is spying on their nuke sites too.

And you don't think it's weird that China has so many errant balloons?

Dinger seems to think china has no motives.

Sorry Ann, but I deal in facts and logic, something you clearly lack the talent to engage in. But keep on cruising with more of your goofy conspiracy theories, they are good for a head shake and a laugh.

It isn't over until it's over. They may take her down yet.

https://www.aol.com/china-play...celed-175315140.html

I wonder if there's a way to intercept any data if it's being sent or will the Chinese need to recover the unit in order to retrieve the data. Could also be a dual function of gathering weather AND spying info.

We just took it down.

Every piece of reporting I have seen says this is some sort of espionage on part of China. Why use this instead of a stealth aircraft or satellite? I do not know. That is not the point.

The point is China haz intentionally violated U.S. airspace for its benefit.

Perhaps it contained the most recent strain of a biological weapon...