[Note: an embedded video, photos, and multiple hyperlinks found at linked website article.]

=================

Chinese spy craft payload located off waters of South Carolina, mostly intact: US official

Senior US official said government's recovery operation for Chinese spy balloon is ongoing and will be impacted by bad weather

Published February 10, 2023 1:24pm EST
By Liz Friden , Chris Pandolfo | Fox News

The payload of the Chinese spy balloon has been found in waters off the coast of South Carolina, a U.S. official tells Fox News.

The payload was originally about the size of a bus and remains mostly intact since the balloon was shot down by U.S. military fighter jets, the official said.

Bad weather will delay the search for debris. Rainfall and winds traveling at 29 to 35 mph are expected to affect the debris field. "Strong winds will cause hazardous seas which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility," according to the gale warning.

''The recovery operation is ongoing, and by operation we include ship movements to/from the site as well as activities on site and security of the site," the senior military official said. "The weather is impacting operations below the surface for a short period, so we’re conducting offload and resupply in the interim. U.S. Coast Guard ships remain on site for security. The HOS Rosebud will assist in the recovery operation in the coming days."

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder is expected to provide updates on the recovery effort at 2 p.m. ET on Friday.

The Pentagon first announced it had detected the spy craft last week as it was flying over the state of Montana. President Biden said he gave orders for the balloon to be shot down on Wednesday, but that defense officials "decided that the best time to do that was when it got over water outside within a 12-mile limit."

The balloon was finally shot down on Saturday as it flew six nautical miles off the coast of South Carolina.

At a briefing this week, senior military and national security officials confirmed that the downed balloon was connected to a major surveillance program operated by China's military. The program uses dated balloon technology along with modern signal surveillance techniques.

China's surveillance balloons travel in the upper atmosphere, hovering between 60,000 and 80,000 feet above sea level, higher than commercial aircraft travels.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

I'm reminded of the lines from "Austin Powers International Man of Mystery";

"Why it looks like a giant.."

"Wang!"

Now that Biden was shown to be the weak-ass fool that we all knew he was, they’ll be doing everything to make him look like a tough guy for a while. Right you are PaSig.

Trouble is joe will believe it.

Ps .always find things to shove up his ass.
And a big crab cage will fit Joe nicely, might have to sand down the corners to get the wiggle room. Drop ‘em joe, bend over & spread’em wide. No lube needed.

This one was smaller yet detected on radar?

https://www.breitbart.com/news...-object-over-alaska/

A US fighter jet shot down an unidentified object drifting high over Alaska on Friday, the White House said, just six days after the downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon sparked a fresh diplomatic rift with Beijing.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it was unclear what the purpose or origin of the new object was, but said that it was taken down because, floating at 40,000 feet, it was a threat to civil aviation.

“The president ordered the military to down the object,” Kirby said.

Questioned about the incident by reporters at the White House, Biden said the shoot-down “was a success.”

Kirby said the object was much smaller than a huge Chinese balloon that crossed the United States last week and was shot down by a US fighter jet off the Atlantic coast on Saturday.

It was “roughly the size of a small car,” he said.

“We do not know who owns it, whether state owned or corporate owned,” he said. “We don’t understand the full purpose.”

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said an F-22 Raptor used an AIM-9X missile to bring down the object — the same aircraft and munition used to target the alleged Chinese spy balloon.

Kirby said the new object was detected late Thursday, and shot down Friday afternoon Washington time.

It went down in northern Alaska near the Canadian border and fell over a frozen body of water, making recovery feasible, Kirby said.

Biden ordered the shoot-down because at the altitude it was flying, Kirby said, the object posed “a reasonable threat” to civil aviation.

How much does an AIM-9X cost?

It was too dangerous to shoot down the balloon over Alaska last week, but not an object this week.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
How much does an AIM-9X cost?

about $400k

What’s funny about that headline is that a week ago we would have thought, “we shot down a UFO???”

quote:

Originally posted by mjlennon:
It was too dangerous to shoot down the balloon over Alaska last week, but not an object this week.

The rationalization here is that today's balloon was at 40k feet instead of 60k feet, so it was a flight safety risk... uh huh...

If you put this shit in a book, nobody would ever fucking believe it…

Clown show

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
How much does an AIM-9X cost?

about $400k

If we're going to start shooting down lots of balloons perhaps we should find a cheaper way to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
How much does an AIM-9X cost?

about $400k

If we're going to start shooting down lots of balloons perhaps we should find a cheaper way to do it.

Trained peregrine falcons.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
How much does an AIM-9X cost?

about $400k

If we're going to start shooting down lots of balloons perhaps we should find a cheaper way to do it.

Pick a factory in China where they might be manufactured...and turn it into glass. Cheapest and probably most effective way to solve all of this.

They don't even know what the hell they shot down. Good thing it isn't Christmas Eve. As I recall, one of the primary rules of shooting is to always be sure of your target.

Soooooooo…

Biden’s a “war president” now?

I get that we have a lot of snowflakes and mRNA burned brains in our military...but fellas, just because it isn't fully stated in a press briefing, or the details are screwed up...doesn't mean we don't know things. Believe it or not, not everything is for public release, and the game of "telephone" is real. I guarantee the professional that shot it, knew his/her target and what was beyond. Outside of finance, and the bullet catching ranks...we do still have the best and brightest war fighters in the world. We're far better than the rest, by a lot. Our "B" team is better than their best.

quote:

Originally posted by OcCurt:
Soooooooo…

Biden’s a “war president” now?

As SNL pointed out, the West Taiwan balloon is Biden's Bin Laden.

US launches ICBM into Pacific? Unarmed, that's no fun.

Col. Christopher Cruise, commander of the 377th Test and Evaluation Group, said in the news release that the launch showcased the “reliability of our strategic deterrence systems while sending a visible message of assurance to allies.”

https://www.stripes.com/theate...bm-test-9102809.html


Col Christopher Cruise has a great ring to it. Especially for a guy in charge of missiles. Imagine the jokes, the puns that must go around that office.