So why don’t we shoot this f***er down?

[69L46]

Originally Posted by aerovette

I don't know. They seem to be very reasonable people to deal with.

I'm a bit disappointed, it's just a round orb.

I was hoping for a likeness of Xi Jinping to be floating over DC. Would have been appropriate anyway.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Wathen1955

It's a test to see how far the Chinese can push their spying. To bad we don't have a device that can capture and retrieve it in order to see it's capability.

At a cost of a million dollars each for a cruise missile, you'd think we could develop a high altitude balloon of our own, equipped with navigational thrusters, and some kind of grappling hook, net, or something to affix the Chinese spy balloon and bring it down in a controlled landing so we can see what's in it.

But hey, we do have pronoun training and paid sex changes for the military, so there's that. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

[sublime1996525]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

At a cost of a million dollars each for a cruise missile, you'd think we could develop a high altitude balloon of our own, equipped with navigational thrusters, and some kind of grappling hook, net, or something to affix the Chinese spy balloon and bring it down in a controlled landing so we can see what's in it.

But hey, we do have pronoun training and paid sex changes for the military, so there's that. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

Just get some dude up there with their Cesna 152 and a hook. Problem solved lol.

[Louie Detroit]

It would be sweet if a good ol' boy with a rifle put an end to this commie horseshit.

[Bill]

The memes almost make this national humiliation worthwhile. Almost. Waiting for one with the balloon dropping a payoff to the Biden's....airdrop, as it were.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by sublime1996525

Just get some dude up there with their Cesna 152 and a hook. Problem solved lol.

How high can civilian aircraft actually fly? High enough to level up with the balloon? Even if that's possible, it seems like an endeavor fraught with peril. The balloon would easily take out an engine, either prop, or jet if the approach was even a bit off.

[Bruze]

Here's the latest image of it, might be a second balloon. They have not identified the source though. Hmm, strange looking balloon:





Aha, they zoomed in and we see this nefarious-looking character piloting it. They should definitely shoot it down:





And I stole his "HA HA" smiley.

[Chemtrails99]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Great. According to Facebook that photo violates public nidity laws and now I get a vacation......funny how it took less than a second to happen when the Bidens get protection.

[NEED-A-VETTE]

[Bill]

Twitter

https://twitter.com/townhallcom/stat...57393640267779

They will let the public know where Santa is, but a Chinese spy balloon? Nope.

[ZipZap]

We can easily see the equipment deck on these balloons, so we already know whether there are cameras, and their apertures. We for sure have monitored any rf transmissions, so we likely know whether they are engaged in active sensing, or SAR. Independent of what the Chinese say, we already have a pretty good idea about the mission.

As far as taking it out, 60,000 ft is a piece of cake. On the other hand, f-ing around with it could provide good TT&P information. Love to see us point a ground based laser at the deck and heat some stuff up. Would they maneuver? Are we monitoring the rf going from the balloon to the satellite relay? Which satellite are they using? What is the frequency band? Is it encrypted? If not, we can get the crosslink and see exactly what they're doing.

As far as balloons, we assessed many constellations that were balloon based. The reason is that balloons have incredible loitering capability, unlike LEO satellites. You just move them up and down and catch the best air stream to stay relatively in the same area. The altitudes make remote sensing possible with much smaller apertures than in space.

Just shooting it down would be the Neanderthal move right now. Once we get all of the info on it, we can make a decision on how the asset is best used from an international standpoint.

[Rob]

Our borders are not protected from illegal aliens, why should we expect our airspace to be protected?

The government is the issue, not the foreign nations sending people or things here. They know our government is too chicken shit to do anything

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

They will let the public know where Santa is, but a Chinese spy balloon? Nope.

I hate Swalwell more than I hate Pencil Neck.

[04 commemorative]

On the news they said it is bigger than 2 school buses so I can understand them not wanting to shoot it down over population.

[Mike Mercury]

The Chinese may have vials of strong virus or nuclear material on that balloon. THAT is why they are not shooting it down while it's over the mainland US.

They will wait until it goes over the US and into the Atlantic, then they'll do something about it.

The sad part is we didn't shoot it down in the Pacific... before it made it to Mainland US soil.

[Bill]

[BRUIZER]

Greeeeeat. I relocate to the middle of nowhere and now have to build a f'ing underground bomb shelter to keep safe from US govt incompetence and stupidity. I'm starting to feel Mehico or Nicaragua is actually safer at this point.

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by BRUIZER

Greeeeeat. I relocate to the middle of nowhere and now have to build a f'ing underground bomb shelter to keep safe from US govt incompetence and stupidity. I'm starting to feel Mehico or Nicaragua is actually safer at this point.

Washington is following right in the footsteps of previous Marxist revolutions around the globe.

Their biggest enemy is always their own people.

[Bill]

One of the states it passes over should call out their state Air National Guard and shoot it down. Don't ask permission, just do it.

[Jeff78]

Balloon Lives Matter