Originally Posted by
DodgyGeezer
IF these objects are as difficult to detect as the reports suggest, I cannot understand how anyone would know where to return fire. Besides, who ever said that a putative attack would just comprise one balloon?
And, of course, there are many other types of weapon. A sprinkling of septoria from 40,000 feet could damage the wheat fields of Canada quite badly...
I did a bit of digging around on the web. Just after the first one was shot down. Loads of them have been flying very long distances for around a decade. Some are believed to have gone right around the globe. Not just made in China. The US has had a similar balloon/airship programme for some years. Chances are other countries have been doing the same.
Seems these things are getting attention now because of the large size of the first one shot down. Not at all new though. The hangars for the Chinese ones were first spotted in 2013. My guess is that their existence was known, but just never really made it into the public eye until now.