Originally Posted by
rattman
Weather balloons are limited to 2kg payload as per the chicago convention the first was absolutely over that. If over 2kg you are required to file flight plan for any country you reasonably expect to cross
Thanks for that, tallies with what I remember from seeing them being launched years ago. 2kg is a hell of a lot smaller than this monstrous bit of Chinese kit. I've heard differing tales of its weight. Lowest is a couple of hundred kg, highest 1,500kg. Either way if that falls out of the sky it's a serious weapon.
Ignoring the surveillance aspect, what about the safety certification? Surely to god it's not legal to fly an uncertified potential weapon like this over any country. Ballistic missiles I can understand. I remember being told that shells were fired over the the A360 that crosses the range close to Larkhill. Safe as the ballistic trajectory meant they couldn't just drop out of the sky. Got to be a chance that a massive balloon could just drop out of the sky.
The consequences of this thing having a major failure over a populated area could be severe. Could it be seen as an act of war?