Chinese Surveillance Balloons and other 'foreign' drones operating over the US

[bfng3569]

Saw an article on the war zone awhile discussing drones and drone swarms over US navy ships, a nuclear power plant, near minuteman installations (another article documented similar encounters i think on Guam in and around Thadd batteries if i remember right)

now they are reporting high altitude Balloons over Montana, and apparently not the first time.

I'd slightly (or highly) alarming ion many aspects....

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/chinas-spy-balloon-over-montana-is-part-of-a-larger-more-troubling-pattern

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40054/adversary-drones-are-spying-on-the-u-s-and-the-pentagon-acts-like-theyre-ufos

not sure if this fits into a drone topic, a political one, or both, feel free to move to more a appropriate board....

 

[WRW]

This is interesting

[bfng3569]

apparently the Chinese have now 'claimed' it as their own, but as an of course 'weather' balloon that they couldn't control.....

yet it is basically stationary now.....

[BansheeOne]

Weather balloon, uhuh.

[bfng3569]

1 minute ago, BansheeOne said:

Weather balloon, uhuh.

the size of a bus....

[WRW]

Cannot USAF not go up sniff around and scan it

[Stuart Galbraith]

31 minutes ago, WRW said:

Cannot USAF not go up sniff around and scan it

When balloons bite back....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantell_UFO_incident

[Mike1158]

Wait 'til it crosses over the Atlantic and splash the bugger.

[Dawes]

Maybe it's a giant airborne pinata. Pop it and tons of candy will rain down.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Supposedly there is another over South America. Which perhaps gives some bearing to the suggestion that it is a civilian project after all. Or maybe thats just what they want you to think.

[Der Zeitgeist]

11 hours ago, Mike1158 said:

Wait 'til it crosses over the Atlantic and splash the bugger.

It's quite likely they can't bring it down. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2023/02/03/busting-that-chinese-balloon-is-harder-than-you-think/

Quote

You might still think that simply puncturing the balloon envelope would be enough. It might not pop like a toy balloon, but letting the gas out should be enough to bring the balloon down.

The problem though is one of scale. Stratospheric balloons are colossal. NASA’s standard balloons are 40 million cubic feet, a volume equivalent to more than 195 GoodyearGT -1.6% blimps: you could fit en entire football stadium inside one. The balloon envelope is made of plastic material no thicker than sandwich wrap, and the pressure difference between the inside and outside is small. Attempting to let the air out by punching a few holes is like expecting to ventilate an entire warehouse with fresh air by opening one small window.

We know that large balloons are hard to shoot down from previous experience. In 1998 a rogue Canadian weather balloon drifted towards Russian airspace. Fighter jets from Canada, Norway and Sweden attempted to bring it down without success. Two Canadian air force CF-18 fighters hit the balloon with more than 1,000 rounds of 20mm cannon fire off the coast of Newfoundland, riddling it with holes. This was not enough to let a significant amount of gas out, and the balloon continued drifting.

A volley of 2.75” rockets was equally ineffective, as the high-explosive rockets simply flew though the balloon without detonating. This may be the Air Force’s real concern with intercepting the Chinese balloon: any missile fired at it may be a much greater hazard to civilians below than the balloon itself, which is likely to descend slowly if at all. (The Canadian balloon drifted into Russian territory and is believed to have come down in the Arctic Sea).

 

[Rick]

 

[WRW]

1 hour ago, Der Zeitgeist said:

It's quite likely they can't bring it down. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2023/02/03/busting-that-chinese-balloon-is-harder-than-you-think/

 

If it lands in sea then environmental damage

[Stuart Galbraith]

3 hours ago, Der Zeitgeist said:

It's quite likely they can't bring it down. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2023/02/03/busting-that-chinese-balloon-is-harder-than-you-think/

 

Laser guided Maverick delivered in a loft out to do it.

Or nuke it from orbit etc etc.

it was a weather balloon...

It was a weather balloon...

 

[shep854]

It's also a good opportunity to present misinformation to the CHICOMs.

[Der Zeitgeist]

1 hour ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

Laser guided Maverick delivered in a loft out to do it.

Or nuke it from orbit etc etc.

 

Loft from where? The ISS?😄

[urbanoid]

[Pavel Novak]

SA-2 SAM had warhead setting for use against high altitude baloons. Old solutions for old problems.

[Stuart Galbraith]

2 hours ago, Der Zeitgeist said:

Loft from where? The ISS?😄

4 g negative dive of course!

 

[Der Zeitgeist]

It's happening. NOTAMs are going up and airspace is getting closed.

[Der Zeitgeist]

Livestream: 

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Clearing the airspace, lots of tankers present. Looks like the Liveex is on.

[Der Zeitgeist]

Splash one balloon.

Looks like a Sidewinder shot.

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Der Zeitgeist

[bfng3569]

So, why would China do this?

They have to know we know it wasn't an accident or a weather balloon.....

So why fly a balloon directly into and across U.S. air space.....?

[Der Zeitgeist]

7 minutes ago, bfng3569 said:

So, why would China do this?

They have to know we know it wasn't an accident or a weather balloon.....

So why fly a balloon directly into and across U.S. air space.....?

Testing the response, I guess.