If you look at yesterday's jetstream map it followed it closely, including the jog south. At 60,000 feet it is mostly above the jet stream winds but there is still wind up there. Being maneuverable doesn't mean it has high maneuverability like a plane.LMCane said:are you just ignorant of reality or willfully spreading Chinese Communist propaganda?Not a Bot said:It was floating with the prevailing upper atmospheric winds.agent-maroon said:One would certainly hope so. But what was it trying to accomplish with all the maneuvering? Did someone think it could run away somewhere and hide?Quote:
I'm guessing we disabled it's surveillance capabilities before this hit the news.
Reuters
Chinese spy balloon changes course, floating over central United States- Pentagon
Fri, February 3, 2023 at 1:51 PM EST
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Chinese spy balloon has changed course and is now floating eastward at about 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) over the central United States, demonstrating a capability to maneuver, the U.S. military said on Friday, in the latest twist to a spying saga that led U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a visit to China.
redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
When it was over Montana, there are virtually nothing for it to fall on. Should have been blasted out of the sky right then and there.redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
1872walker said:redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
As if we have never made trade offs to personal liberty and safety in the name of national security. If the ballon belonged to "far right ultra mags white supremacists" this would have been over days ago.
Huh? We have known about this thing before it even got to Alaska! Maybe I am missing your sarcasm.dead said:
Ok, Nostradamus
LMCane said:how much does the CCP pay you to post on message boards?bmks270 said:
Maybe it was a civilian meteorological research balloon that went off course.
MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
As if we have never made trade offs to personal liberty and safety in the name of national security. If the ballon belonged to "far right ultra mags white supremacists" this would have been over days ago.
Dumb take
Why would we do that when we had disabled it's ability to gather and transmit data?Rapier108 said:When it was over Montana, there are virtually nothing for it to fall on. Should have been blasted out of the sky right then and there.redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
Actually, should have shot it down over the Aleutian Islands.
redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
1872walker said:MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
As if we have never made trade offs to personal liberty and safety in the name of national security. If the ballon belonged to "far right ultra mags white supremacists" this would have been over days ago.
Dumb take
Fine. Make a case on why this balloon should have been allowed to enter our airspace, much less take a leisurely tour over much of our country and it's strategic defenses.
74OA said:The devil really is in the details on this one. IT'S COMPLICATEDNot a Bot said:
Per guy on Fox, Biden wanted to shoot it down over Montana, DoD and other military advised Biden not to attempt a shoot down. There's a Twitter thread a few pages back that explains why it would have been tricky over land.
The guns on fighter jets use cannon rounds, not bullets. They are designed to explode on impact and the balloon surface wouldn't allow for that, and those rounds would have to come down somewhere. Using a proximity warhead on a missile would have the same issue. It's also flying at a high enough altitude that F-22 would be operating near it's upper limit. Even though it looks like an easy target it actually isn't.
This is one area the new laser pods being developed could really help. It's a shame we couldn't conduct a real-world test yet.
Nothing confirmed here but based on the video, this looks like an AIM-9 kill, IIR close up.
— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) February 4, 2023
Can you provide a link to this happening during the Trump admin and doing nothing? "Facts?" You sure?mike0305 said:
I haven't seen any specifics on where balloons have historically flown over, have you? Do you know the specifics of the altitudes at which prior trips travelled, perhaps it operated at lower altitudes at night where it wouldn't be seen?
My point is the only reason we are aware is the public finally found out about it and broke it. The Trump admin did nothing in the past. Both are facts. The guy on Fox speaking to a malfunction is pure speculation.
MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
As if we have never made trade offs to personal liberty and safety in the name of national security. If the ballon belonged to "far right ultra mags white supremacists" this would have been over days ago.
Dumb take
Fine. Make a case on why this balloon should have been allowed to enter our airspace, much less take a leisurely tour over much of our country and it's strategic defenses.
This threat to national security and the balloon's capabilities did not outweigh the risk of damage to civilian infrastructure and life.
Many minds debated this for days. Many rational and present minds who have years of experience.
Believe it or not, the military doesn't want to kill civilians.Stringfellow Hawke said:redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
Since when does the govt care about its people?
MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
As if we have never made trade offs to personal liberty and safety in the name of national security. If the ballon belonged to "far right ultra mags white supremacists" this would have been over days ago.
Dumb take
Fine. Make a case on why this balloon should have been allowed to enter our airspace, much less take a leisurely tour over much of our country and it's strategic defenses.
This threat to national security and the balloon's capabilities did not outweigh the risk of damage to civilian infrastructure and life.
Many minds debated this for days. Many rational and present minds who have years of experience.
Not a Bot said:
Just realized the F-22 just got it's first air to air kill.
It was an effing balloon.
I'm about as far from a Biden admin supporter as you can get and he's right.aggielostinETX said:MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:MarathonAg12 said:1872walker said:redcrayon said:
We can't just shoot stuff down and endanger civilians. That debris can kill people and destroy property.
As if we have never made trade offs to personal liberty and safety in the name of national security. If the ballon belonged to "far right ultra mags white supremacists" this would have been over days ago.
Dumb take
Fine. Make a case on why this balloon should have been allowed to enter our airspace, much less take a leisurely tour over much of our country and it's strategic defenses.
This threat to national security and the balloon's capabilities did not outweigh the risk of damage to civilian infrastructure and life.
Many minds debated this for days. Many rational and present minds who have years of experience.
Carry that water.
