quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
Next time might I suggest:

Baloon is flying at nearly twice the service service ceiling.

F-22 service ceiling is 60K feet. Same as what they said the balloons altitude was.

But the F-22 isn't equipped for skyhook grabs.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
Next time might I suggest:

Baloon is flying at nearly twice the service service ceiling.

F-22 service ceiling is 60K feet. Same as what they said the balloons altitude was.

I clipped out the photo in the post I was responding to, it was a C130 performing a Fulton recovery. That's the aircraft service ceiling I was referring to. The F22 cannot perform a fulton recovery as pictured.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Maybe they wanted to be able to examine whatever the balloon was collecting?

flashguy

Yeah, They're probably out there looking for any debris now. I'm sure the electronics/photo/communication/guidance equip had to be water resistant to some extent.

I'm just glad they hit the damn thing. This could've been even more embarrassing than it already is.

We were told that they had to use a missile because bullets would just make the balloon leak, which means that instead of it falling out of the sky, it would just drift to the ground slowly.

Hello?

I’m on pins and needles waiting to find out how they explain that one.

https://www.foxnews.com/politi...-intel-officials-say

The U.S. military is working to recover the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina Saturday by a U.S. military fighter jet and expects to gain valuable intelligence from what it finds, the Department of Defense said.

As part of the recovery mission, several U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels established a security perimeter surrounding the area in the Atlantic Ocean roughly six miles off the coast where the balloon crashed after being shot down, DOD officials said. The vessels are searching for and collecting any debris associated with the balloon.

Because the device fell into a relatively shallow area, which has an estimated depth of 47 feet, the recovery mission is expected to be "fairly easy," one official stated. However, officials said there was no estimate for the length of the mission.

Officials added that recovering the balloon would give military investigators the rare opportunity to examine sensitive Chinese surveillance equipment. They also noted that the U.S. had taken steps to collect data from the balloon while it was making its flight across the country.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
We were told that they had to use a missile because bullets would just make the balloon leak, which means that instead of it falling out of the sky, it would just drift to the ground slowly.

Hello?

Para I heard them say they wanted to get it down in US territorial waters and if it drifted slowly it could have drifted into international waters.

Not if they had shot it in Montana or Alaska.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Not if they had shot it in Montana or Alaska.

Good point.

Is I Am Weather Balloon going to make it? Critical Condition? Major Trauma? Just winged?

I'm sure General TZO is very concerned about his precious balloon. Beef and Broccoli miss their sibling.

I don't buy a word of this crap. If the media is talking, the media is lying.

-eyes itchy from wool-

Excerpt from the OP on page 1:

quote:

...
'Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective over and above what the PRC can do through other means,' the senior defense official said.
...

Now from the above article:

quote:

The U.S. military is working to recover the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina Saturday by a U.S. military fighter jet and expects to gain valuable intelligence from what it finds, the Department of Defense said.

...


Officials added that recovering the balloon would give military investigators the rare opportunity to examine sensitive Chinese surveillance equipment. They also noted that the U.S. had taken steps to collect data from the balloon while it was making its flight across the country.

So which is it? Does this Chinese spy balloon contain "limited additive value to intelligence collection" or does it contain "valuable intelligence" and "sensitive Chinese surveillance equipment"?

These ass clown officials in the Biden regime can't even keep their stories straight over a few days of reporting. They spin stories so often they don't seem to even be able to separate truth from lies.

I don't think the Biden regime needs to spin shit when you have such pathetic excuses for news media.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:
Excerpt from the OP on page 1:

quote:

...
'Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective over and above what the PRC can do through other means,' the senior defense official said.
...

Now from the above article:

quote:

The U.S. military is working to recover the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina Saturday by a U.S. military fighter jet and expects to gain valuable intelligence from what it finds, the Department of Defense said.

...


Officials added that recovering the balloon would give military investigators the rare opportunity to examine sensitive Chinese surveillance equipment. They also noted that the U.S. had taken steps to collect data from the balloon while it was making its flight across the country.

So which is it? Does this Chinese spy balloon contain "limited additive value to intelligence collection" or does it contain "valuable intelligence" and "sensitive Chinese surveillance equipment"?

These ass clown officials in the Biden regime can't even keep their stories straight over a few days of reporting. They spin stories so often they don't seem to even be able to separate truth from lies.

Uncle Sam's nose is growing...

Rare opportunity because what? We chose not to shoot down the handful of others?

“In recent years, “a handful” of surveillance balloons have been spotted, but this one “is appearing to hang out for a longer period of time,” the official said.“

Time

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
We were told that they had to use a missile because bullets would just make the balloon leak, which means that instead of it falling out of the sky, it would just drift to the ground slowly.

Hello?

Indeed. Does it make you wonder, if the F22 does have a gun pod (it does), why did they use a missile that could only target the metal “payload” of the balloon? And said missile will destroy the payload due to the explosion. Maybe hampering the recovery of any parts of the thing….

I’m with you- it should have been downed when it was first “discovered” err I mean when the public found out about it. Montana is sparsely populated.

Can some adept please put the balloon bust and Biden talking about Milley into a .gif with a soundtrack of “POP! goes the weasel.”

Our once great nation is being led by a bunch of baboons

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:

Indeed. Does it make you wonder, if the F22 does have a gun pod (it does), why did they use a missile that could only target the metal “payload” of the balloon? And said missile will destroy the payload due to the explosion. Maybe hampering the recovery of any parts of the thing….

I’m with you- it should have been downed when it was first “discovered” err I mean when the public found out about it. Montana is sparsely populated.

Likely because the balloon was higher than the F-22 service ceiling.