I heard that the location doesn’t track in regards to where the balloon would be at that time. Which, if true, means that was Something Else…There was just a huge explosion in the skies above Montana
First the balloon and now this?notthebee.com
There was just a huge explosion in the skies above Montana
First the balloon and now this?notthebee.com
Chinese spy balloon: US tracks suspected surveillance device
Officials decided against shooting it down due to the danger of falling debris from the "sizeable" device.www.bbc.com
From the article:
"Defence officials said they were confident the "high-altitude surveillance balloon" belonged to China. It was most recently seen above the western state of Montana.
But military leaders decided against shooting it down as there were concerns over the danger of falling debris."
This had been trending on Twitter for some hours.
People are generally befuddled as to why we can't shoot it down. Certainly isn't doing the Biden administration any favors.
It floated here from China through Canada from what I've seen.Here's a question, did it float over the Pacific, or was it released by a Chinese national on US soil?
I don't see a way that the Chinese could have predicted that path. The Pacific is famously unpredictable, the further north the worse it gets. I know that the weather department near the Puget Sound issues new reports three times a day.It floated here from China through Canada from what I've seen.
I don't see a way that the Chinese could have predicted that path. The Pacific is famously unpredictable, the further north the worse it gets. I know that the weather department near the Puget Sound issues new reports three times a day.
On the other hand, this clearly shows Canadian incompetency. What the fuck do we keep them around for if not to shoot down commie balloons? Not even a Trudeau damned report? What's the point of being an absolutist monarchy if they can't even control their population to do basic areal recon?
Only for international relations, in everything else we're the good cop to their bad cop. If hypocrisy was country it would be Canada.Canada's job is to be the good cop to our bad cop in international relations.
You're talking about a country that has allowed the Chinese police to set up their own police stations within its borders, led by a man said to admire the "basic dictatorship" of China, and who let himself be publicly dressed down by the Grand Pooh Bear himself.I don't see a way that the Chinese could have predicted that path. The Pacific is famously unpredictable, the further north the worse it gets. I know that the weather department near the Puget Sound issues new reports three times a day.
On the other hand, this clearly shows Canadian incompetency. What the fuck do we keep them around for if not to shoot down commie balloons? Not even a Trudeau damned report? What's the point of being an absolutist monarchy if they can't even control their population to do basic areal recon?
Not a problem for missiles from any plane, and there are plenty enough with little shelf life left.. Also can use training rounds for the cannon.Eh, there are a few issues with attempting to shoot this thing down.
1) It's really, really high; 60k+ feet, and the only fighters we have that can maneuver and fire at that alt are F-22s. It would be hard to safely hit it with guns without tossing ammo in long arcs that could come down all over the place and F-22s have cannons, not .50 cals, so there would be explosive cannon rounds raining down on the area below the engagement. A missile could do it, but that would be a massive waste of money.
It was over Montana, not New York, what are the chances...2) No idea where debris would come down if that did hit the payload section; it's up high enough that guess a good 'landing site' for debris ahead of time is almost farcical beyond 100 square mile plots in it's projected path.
China would be in deep shit if it did that without reporting.3) No idea what other power source could be onboard it besides solar; may have an RTG and that would mean radioactive debris if it is shot down.
60k feet is a far lower altitude, allows much better electromagnetic noise gathering and photos, also is a huge airspace sovereignty issue. It's below the service ceiling of SR-71 and U-2, guess how much those got shot at.4) Not really any more threatening than a low-orbit sat, and US military already has procedures to handle those that amount to 'don't do spicy shit with comms or in the open while it's overhead'.
China can't shoot what it can't see, if they could see it, they would definitely shoot it down. Yes, that's a stealth drone.5) We fly high alt RQ-180 spy drones over the CCP fairly regularly, this is not much different, it's just slower and has more loiter time. Shooting it down, when it's not more threatening than a low orbit sat, is kinda overkill.
Yep, totally no way the present administration would ever take any kind of measures to hurt the Chinese...-Snip-
(Not that the current administration would have the sense or the balls to initiate measures of any kind.)
Had the russians done this in 84' we wouldn't be reading this right now from our cozy homes.
#ChineseSpyBalloon Similar high-altitude surveillance balloons and airships have previously been spotted over Hawaii, Japan, India, and the Phillipines.
2) @TuckerCarlson: "The Pentagon is tracking a very high altitude Chinese spy balloon over the northern US. The Pentagon has decided to not shoot down the balloon even though it's flying over 'sensitive sites.' There are intercontinental ballistic missile silos in that area."
3) The same type of reconnaissance balloon was spotted over Sendai, Japan, on June 17, 2020.
Japanese officials said:
"We have absolutely no idea what it is. It may be some kind of weather monitoring equipment, but it definitely isn't ours."
4) Japanese officials confirmed that the balloon was "equipped with a cross part hanging beneath it as well as two propellers," but were unable to determine the purpose or owner of the balloon.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200704/p2a/00m/0na/002000c…
5) The same type of reconnaissance balloon was spotted over Port Blair, India, on Jan. 6, 2022.
Indian officials were unaware of its origins.
"Zoomed photograph showed some eight dark panel-shaped equipment/objects attached to the flying object."
http://andamansheekha.com/101331/
6) The Air Force scrambled F-22s to investigate the same type of reconnaissance balloon off the coast of Hawaii on Feb. 16, 2022.
An Air Canada flight spotted the balloon on approach to Honolulu.
https://thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44352/f-22s-scrambled-to-investigate-suspicious-high-altitude-balloon-off-the-coast-of-hawaii…
7) Indo-Pacific Command visually confirmed that it was "an unmanned balloon without observable identification markings" floating in the air near the island of Kauai.
Quote Tweet
Kenneth S Hara
@HawaiiTAG
·
Feb 16, 2022
In regards to aerial activity over Kauai on 2-14:U.S. Indo-Pacific Command detected a high-altitude object floating in air in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. In accordance with homeland defense procedures, Pacific Air Forces launched tactical aircraft to intercept and -1 /3
8) The Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai's west coast is one of the US military's most advanced testing sites.
The Navy describes it as "the world's largest instrumented multi-environmental range capable of supporting surface, subsurface, air, and space operations."
9) The USAF F-22s intercepted the "high altitude unmanned balloon" floating north of Kauai's Pacific Missile Range Facility.
https://thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44352/f-22s-scrambled-to-investigate-suspicious-high-altitude-balloon-off-the-coast-of-hawaii…
11) Hawaii news reported:
"Kauai residents said it looked like jets shot it down, and some heard loud booms. But, the military said it did not fire at the balloon."
https://hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/02/19/residents-spot-mysterious-object-floating-above-kauai-military-responds-with-jets/…
12) A high-altitude surveillance airship was spotted over Pangasinan, Phillippines, on Dec. 18, 2022.
Images of the airship – taken about 62 miles from Subic Bay in the northern Philippines – were first posted on Facebook, then Reddit.
https://reddit.com/r/LessCredibleDefence/comments/zqt435/high_altitude_balloon_photographed_in_pangasinan/…
13) Chinese state media reported:
"There is no evidence the airship was from China, though its design appears similar to types on display at the Zhuhai air show."
14) Brazilian media reported that the airship seemed to turn "transparent" and had broad similarities to high-altitude airships that Chinese companies are known to have been working on.
The US and other nations have also developed similar airships.
https://thedrive.com/the-war-zone/was-a-high-altitude-airship-spotted-recently-near-the-south-china-sea…
15) A Chinese-language poster depicting the Yuang Meng airship.
China's domestically developed floating airship Jimu-1.
A satellite image showing a Chinese airship in the Spratly islands in the South China Sea in 2019.
A US military airship in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2014.
16) The current Chinese spy balloon flying over the US is flying over "sensitive sites," like the Malmstrom Air Force Base, which holds well over 100 nuclear-tipped ICBM silos.
Red symbolizes active missile fields.
Black is deactivated.
https://thedrive.com/the-war-zone/chinas-spy-balloon-over-montana-is-part-of-a-larger-more-troubling-pattern…
17) Meteorologist Dan Satterfield (@wildweatherdan), backtracked the balloon's course and traced it to central China.
18) Reporter: "Why not take it down?"
DOD: "Considering the size of the payload, looking at the potential for debris and the impact on civilians... We assessed that it does not pose a risk to people on the ground as it traverses the United States."
19) China does not need to fly a spy balloon over the USA when President Joe Biden's son admitted to working for the "spy chief of China."
The balloon is merely symbolic of China's control over the POTUS.
China claims is an errant meteorological balloon, and there are agreements that cover those that the CCP are trying to exploit.Not a problem for missiles from any plane, and there are plenty enough with little shelf life left.. Also can use training rounds for the cannon.
It was over Montana, not New York, what are the chances...
China would be in deep shit if it did that without reporting.
60k feet is a far lower altitude, allows much better electromagnetic noise gathering and photos, also is a huge airspace sovereignty issue. It's below the service ceiling of SR-71 and U-2, guess how much those got shot at.
China can't shoot what it can't see, if they could see it, they would definitely shoot it down. Yes, that's a stealth drone.
If they knew where and when to look. Plus they can fly at night...And I do think the CCP can visually ID the RQ-180s, at minimum.