Look Up! Chinese Spy Balloon overhead

[popper]

Can't tell if it has solar panels or antenna on it, bigger than our weather balloons. Or they could be 'sails' to steer it. Reported that it has changes course. Or all 3. Definitely could cause some ground damage if it came down. Supposedly came over Alaska and Canada before US. Relay info to their low orbit satellites? Giant TicTok data collector?

 

[oldag]

Just a laser to puncture the balloon, let it slowly come down, take it apart, see what we can learn.

 

[kbaxter60]

Just a laser to puncture the balloon, let it slowly come down, take it apart, see what we can learn.

I like it!
But are we pretty sure we CAN bring it down?
I think it's a test of Biden's backbone (ha ha!) and maybe our tech?

 

[Vaquero]

Probably a nuke

 

[Renegade]

It sounds as if they are worried about the debris field.

Debris field over Alaska/Canada/Montana beats one over a major US city. This should have been shot down immediately.

Gonna be a real cluster if it starts to deflate over a city.

What are they gonna do if it heads for DC?

I do not think these people can look 1 move ahead.....

 

[striker55]

If it gets near DC I believe it will be brought down.

 

[oldag]

Debris field over Alaska/Canada/Montana beats one over a major US city. This should have been shot down immediately.

Gonna be a real cluster if it starts to deflate over a city.

What are they gonna do if it heads for DC?

I do not think these people can look 1 move ahead.....

Heck, R, I am not sure they can think...

 

[Tnhawk]

Heck, R, I am not sure they can think...

biden and his administration are too busy trying to cover their past abuses of power, than to react in a timely manner to current events.

 

[wakosama]

Maybe it's just delivering the 'big guy's' usual 10%

 

[rotor]

Maybe they can't shoot it down. It's at 60k feet, what planes do we have that go that high and are armed, air to air missiles not designed for balloons. Machine gun projectiles might pose a real risk to people on the ground. If we were going to shoot it down it would have to be before it hit the west coast and they didn't maybe because they can't. We must have known it was incoming right? We do have that capability right?

 

[Tnhawk]

One possible reason biden can't have a chinese ballon shot down - a dog don't bite the hand that feeds him.

 

[General Zod]

Maybe they can't shoot it down. It's at 60k feet, what planes do we have that go that high and are armed, air to air missiles not designed for balloons. Machine gun projectiles might pose a real risk to people on the ground. If we were going to shoot it down it would have to be before it hit the west coast and they didn't maybe because they can't. We must have known it was incoming right? We do have that capability right?

The only thing we've got that can fly up in that thin air is the F-22, because the trust vectoring engines give it the ability to maneuver. F-15s top out around 50k, and that's a couple of miles lower than the balloon. So the Oregon ANG couldn't have touched it, and helicopters or rednecks in Cessnas will have no chance to take a shot.

But...I see no logical reason to allow it to remain unmolested. As Oldag said, seems like a good use of a laser. Either put a small puncture in the balloon itself, or damage the payload so it can't continue gathering whatever intel they're gathering.

China's Spy Balloon Over Montana Is Part Of A Larger, More Troubling Pattern

The Pentagon says Chinese balloons have flown over the U.S. multiple times before and other peculiar incidents point to a much wider issue.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Byrd666]

If that thing is any way, a weather balloon, then I'm a better shot than Jerry Miculek. And more than a few of you have seen me shoot.

That spying apparatus needs to be destroyed immediately and forthwith, if not sooner.

Then again, with Mr Potatoehead in charge and his Cabbage cabinet blindly following, we'll be lucky to be around until the next election.

 

[Tnhawk]

But...I see no logical reason to allow it to remain unmolested. As Oldag said, seems like a good use of a laser. Either put a small puncture in the balloon itself, or damage the payload so it can't continue gathering whatever intel they're gathering.

A puncture and damage to their equipment should be done.

 

[kbaxter60]

The only thing we've got that can fly up in that thin air is the F-22, because the trust vectoring engines give it the ability to maneuver. F-15s top out around 50k, and that's a couple of miles lower than the balloon. So the Oregon ANG couldn't have touched it, and helicopters or rednecks in Cessnas will have no chance to take a shot.

But...I see no logical reason to allow it to remain unmolested. As Oldag said, seems like a good use of a laser. Either put a small puncture in the balloon itself, or damage the payload so it can't continue gathering whatever intel they're gathering.

China's Spy Balloon Over Montana Is Part Of A Larger, More Troubling Pattern

The Pentagon says Chinese balloons have flown over the U.S. multiple times before and other peculiar incidents point to a much wider issue.

www.thedrive.com

Yes. Somewhere we have this 747 with a huge laser on the back. Might be time for a "smoke" test...

ETA - yeah, this could do it

Boeing YAL-1 - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[majormadmax]

Maybe they can't shoot it down. It's at 60k feet, what planes do we have that go that high and are armed, air to air missiles not designed for balloons. Machine gun projectiles might pose a real risk to people on the ground. If we were going to shoot it down it would have to be before it hit the west coast and they didn't maybe because they can't. We must have known it was incoming right? We do have that capability right?

We've had that cability since 1985...

 

[General Zod]

Yes. Somewhere we have this 747 with a huge laser on the back. Might be time for a "smoke" test...

It was nose-mounted. Sadly, that 747 went to the Boneyard a few years ago. It would've been perfect for this.

 

[Wudidiz]

Biden won’t do anything that might anger his Chinese handlers.

 

[General Zod]

We've had that cability since 1985...

View attachment 370654

The ASM-135A ASAT program ended in 1988. And the balloon might be a few miles too low for that missile...

Vought ASM-135A Anti-Satellite Missile

The ASM-135A anti-satellite missile (ASAT) was the only U.S. air-launched missile ever to destroy a satellite. In the late 1970s, the U.S. anticipated Soviet development of “killer satellites” that

www.nationalmuseum.af.mil

An AMRAAM could hit it from a few miles below off an F-15 (or from the same altitude launched from an F-22) but...I don't know if anyone has any idea if the balloon would cause the warhead to detonate.

 

[General Zod]

An AMRAAM could hit it from a few miles below off an F-15 (or from the same altitude launched from an F-22) but...I don't know if anyone has any idea if the balloon would cause the warhead to detonate.

I might be wrong about hitting it with an AMRAAM - the AIM-120 AMRAAM's maximum effective altitude is publicly released as 50,000 ft...since that's typically as high as military jets can reach. It probably has a higher actual effective ceiling, but it might not quite be 60,000 ft. No way to know...and those who do know can't tell us.