Pentagon Tracking Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Over the US

[DadSmith]

Explosion in the sky above Billings Montana where Chinese balloon was

Resident witnesses in Billings, Montana, reported an 'explosion in the sky' after US officials warned of a Chinese spy balloon flying over the region.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[pitbulld45]

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Not pushing any particular idea, just thinking about the what ifs.
Like I said, all they have to do is mumble the words of a threat.
The most benign thing that it can be is the actual weather ballon veered off course, and then the Chinese get to say look how easy that was, we can do that again.

It’s easy to say shoot it down, or it’s completely benign, but we don’t know what we don’t know, and that includes military technology, like payload capacities and tech abilities.

All I’m really pushing I guess is we don’t know, and there’s no point in analyzing it in terms of what we, as lay people, do know.

I'm out of my depth on spy stuff, but I am pretty confident in my boomy stuff knowledge and what ifs must still be constrained by what's realistically plausible. There's just not a way to have a significant amount of conventional or nuclear explosive given the size/shape/payload we're dealing with. Nuclear would also be easily detectible, so it's real real real unlikely theres some hidden suitcase nuke. You could bust it up and throw shrapnel from 5 miles up or whatever, but again there's just no why to it.

I still think it's largely a PsyOps/Propaganda operation and maybe a secondary intel gathering operation, personally.

 

[Yup!]

I haven’t read any of this thread (sorry) but now that it’s 200+ posts long I feel it’s time to ask this?

If we shoot at the balloon, do we think a 9mm has enough penetration power at that distance or should we go with the obvious .40SW?

 

[ditcherman]

I'm out of my depth on spy stuff, but I am pretty confident in my boomy stuff knowledge and what ifs must still be constrained by what's realistically plausible. There's just not a way to have a significant amount of conventional or nuclear explosive given the size/shape/payload we're dealing with. Nuclear would also be easily detectible, so it's real real real unlikely theres some hidden suitcase nuke. You could bust it up and throw shrapnel from 5 miles up or whatever, but again there's just no why to it.

I still think it's largely a PsyOps/Propaganda operation and maybe a secondary intel gathering operation, personally.

You’re probably right.
Do we think this ballon is filled with helium?
Why do we think that?
What if there’s something lighter than helium? Or something even lighter than what all the smart people (not me) know that lighter than helium, know about?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

You’re probably right.
Do we think this ballon is filled with helium?
Why do we think that?
What if there’s something lighter than helium? Or something even lighter than what all the smart people (not me) know that lighter than helium, know about?

Probably filled with virus particles.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

You’re probably right.
Do we think this ballon is filled with helium?
Why do we think that?
What if there’s something lighter than helium? Or something even lighter than what all the smart people (not me) know that lighter than helium, know about?

You can look at the periodic table and see what an element weighs. Hydrogen is lighter than helium, but no other gas is. Unless there's some element outside of observable physics they've somehow managed to create, it can't be lighter than hydrogen, and if they've done that then worrying about a balloon is like worrying about the cake knife inside a battle ship off your coast.

 

[Route 45]

I haven’t read any of this thread (sorry) but now that it’s 200+ posts long I feel it’s time to ask this?

If we shoot at the balloon, do we think a 9mm has enough penetration power at that distance or should we go with the obvious .40SW?

Funny you should mention handgun calibers in this thread. I was just thinking that there's an odd correlation between those who think that a 5 shot snubby is adequate for defense in today's world, and those who think that a Chinese spying craft flying in our airspace over our sensitive missile sites and Air Force bases is no big deal.

So...38 Special?

 

[HoosierLife]

You’re probably right.
Do we think this ballon is filled with helium?
Why do we think that?
What if there’s something lighter than helium? Or something even lighter than what all the smart people (not me) know that lighter than helium, know about?

Only thing lighter than Helium is Hydrogen.

We tried that once.

Remember the Hindenburg?

 

[Route 45]

 

[jamil]

Probably filled with virus particles.

Why not that? After the last three years, is there anything off the table?

 

[oze]

Only thing lighter than Helium is Hydrogen.

We tried that once.

Remember the Hindenburg?

Not to be pedantic, but the Hindenburg belonged to the filthy Nazis, not us. And it was most definitely not the only hydrogen-filled airship in use at the time.

 

[JCSR]

This could be bogus......... or not

• Now the Pentagon is planning a shoot down and capture mission over US waters

Biden praises Top Gun F-22 jet pilot who shot down China spy balloon

An F-22 Raptor out of Langley Air Force base took the balloon down with a single missile at 2.38pm, separating its surveillance payload and sending it plummeting towards the ocean off Myrtle Beach.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Route 45]

This could be bogus......... or not

• Now the Pentagon is planning a shoot down and capture mission over US waters

Biden praises Top Gun F-22 jet pilot who shot down China spy balloon

An F-22 Raptor out of Langley Air Force base took the balloon down with a single missile at 2.38pm, separating its surveillance payload and sending it plummeting towards the ocean off Myrtle Beach.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Being scrambled as we speak...

 

[jamil]

Not to be pedantic, but the Hindenburg belonged to the filthy Nazis, not us. And it was most definitely not the only hydrogen-filled airship in use at the time.

Technically, Nazis were humans. So if he meant “mankind” then. Yeah.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Funny you should mention handgun calibers in this thread. I was just thinking that there's an odd correlation between those who think that a 5 shot snubby is adequate for defense in today's world, and those who think that a Chinese spying craft flying in our airspace over our sensitive missile sites and Air Force bases is no big deal.

So...38 Special?

Who thought it was no big deal?

 

[oze]

Technically, Nazis were humans. So if he meant “mankind” then. Yeah.

I get a bellyache at the thought. When it comes to Nazis, my pronouns are they/them.

 

[Route 45]

 

[COOPADUP]

2nd Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over South America, Pentagon says

The Pentagon has confirmed to ABC News that a second Chinese surveillance balloon has been spotted transiting over South America.

abc13.com

So now that there is a 2nd one over South America, maybe someone will react and destroy that one.