So does it contain germ warfare.

Report I heard was that They (govt) had been watching the object for several days.... Supposidly located overhead from nuke silo sites!!!. THEY Donot want to upset the RPC by taking it down!!! Do you think that they (PRC) would have left it alone this long if it had been in their air space over their country?????...... Another reason for doing a full house cleaning up there in Washington of those limp wristed wimps that are sending this country down the river a little more and more each day. ...................................... drii sgt.

I wonder how high up this thing is? If it's low enough, they could use a Hercules to hook it, pop it, and drag the payload down in a controlled manner.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
Nothing wrong with tracking it until we have a way to bring it down intact and dissect it for every iota of intel. But, alas, I'm sure that's not what we'll do.

Seems to me that a balloon with very little metallic parts would not be an easy target to detect using conventional radar or other typical electronic surveillance equipment and methods. NSA needs to be investigating this and perhaps already are. It’s right up their alley. It very well could have gone completely unnoticed had it not been spotted by passengers on that civilian aircraft. I think it would be unwise of us to assume this is the only time this has been done. How many years have they been using this technology to spy on US?? DO we think this is the first instance??? This may have been going on for many years. Which brings the next question "How long have they been doing this?” Where else have they used this strategy? Equipped with high end camera equipment and sophisticated radio receivers tuned to find specific frequencies and frequency patterns they can learn what assets may be deployed in the area and how it is being used. How long have they used this technology?? Intercepting non communication electronic signal transmissions from weapons of war or American aerial platforms could yield a significant amount of intelligence of the equipment in the area the military operations being conducted in the area. Seems to me that until they find a way to detect these balloon platforms, we need to be in the air constantly patrolling these areas. I believe this is more than Sabre rattling. This needs to be taken with the utmost seriousness until we are sure what we are dealing with.
Anyway, just my .02 cents from a former 98J30

"'Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,' they said - without specifying what actions they took."

They immediately moved everything into Biden's garage.

HaHaHa ... His garage is filling up fast. He's going to need a different place to park the Corvette. But the problem is "how many balloons have gotten by without detection and how many will get by undetected in the future? As I understand it the only reason the balloon was detected was it was seen by passengers on a passing plane. The balloon is invisible to any electronic surveillance equipment in use today.

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
So does it contain germ warfare.

Was my thought. Though I can't tell tin foil hat from realistic anymore.

Other countries already have spy satellites taking pictures of every spot on the planet. So if the Chinese can use satellites what the balloon for? Certainly dont need it for photos.

The Japs sent balloons over the U.S, in WW2 and bombed us.

quote:

Originally posted by G-Man:
"'Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,' they said - without specifying what actions they took."

They immediately moved everything into Biden's garage.

I remember the Open Skies Treaty messages. And the hoops every one jumped through to protect sensitive stuff. Here is hoping some airmen in Montana put out a large banner with Winnie the Pooh's picture and a FU Xi written under it.

quote:

Originally posted by IrishWind:

quote:

Originally posted by G-Man:
"'Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,' they said - without specifying what actions they took."

They immediately moved everything into Biden's garage.

I remember the Open Skies Treaty messages. And the hoops every one jumped through to protect sensitive stuff. Here is hoping some airmen in Montana put out a large banner with Winnie the Pooh's picture and a FU Xi written under it.

My father would step outside at work, light a smoke and flip off the satellite sitting parked over his head/facility (soviets). He was certain they could see him.

Like one general said, the balloon should of been tracked well before MT. The time to shoot it down was over the ocean.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/...g-right-now-n2619113

The Chinese dispatched a spy balloon reportedly monitoring US military installations in the Western United States. It was spotted over Montana last night, and we didn’t shoot it down for some reason.

It was a high-altitude device that was hovering at limits above that of commercial air travel

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is now demanding a ‘Gang of Eight’ briefing about the spy balloon and how it was able to float around the US for so long.

brief visual at 30 sec into the video at

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/c...b7e&linkId=199764948

China already knows all they need to know about this country and its inept government. They don’t need a balloon to tell them anything more. Sheesh………

The story didn’t become a story until regular people spotted the balloon.

Why not shoot it down?

1. Why waste a missle, aren’t those things expensive?

2. Would shooting it down reveal something about our capabilities or lack there if that we do not want revealed?

3. Would admitting we knew about it the moment it launched or at any point there after reveal something about our capabilities or lack there if that we do not want revealed?

A quick perusal if the internet says the service ceiling of the F-22 is 65,000’ and high altitude balloons float around between 59,000’ and 120,000’.

I also don’t see how it can be ‘over MT’ for very long. Right now winds at 39,000 feet are from the NW at near 70+ MPH. A few days ago winds were 160+ MPH further to the East.

Winds aloft at 75 or so is light for this time of year. That contraption should be moving east a a good clip.

Carrying an emp device?

quote:

Originally posted by Mustang-PaPa:
So does it contain germ warfare.

No, it contains wheat germ.

It's a health balloon

quote:

after it was spotted and reported by civilians in a commercial airliner, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal.

I really really hope that's not how it actually came to their attention...

Strange. Is it really a balloon for spying or is it some type of scientific data collection instrument blown off course? What's the advantages of a balloon over satellite images?

It's a giant middle finger from the Chinese.

Why is it still flying?

The U.S. government was alerted by civilians...

Goodness.