Originally Posted by
_Agrajag_
Pretty simple. Any attacking aircraft and weapon system needs to find the target. This may use active sensors the thing can record and uplink for later analysis. The attacker then needs to acquire the target. As above, data can be acquired and uplinked. Then the weapon system needs to be initialised, launched and home in for the kill. As above. All that data can be acquired and uplinked for later analysis.
The value to China of knowing EXACTLY how these things are being shot down is high. Knowing the fine details of how these things are being intercepted and shot down gives China a golden opportunity to develop countermeasures. I can't think of a cheaper or more effective way of getting solid data like this. may also explain why a relatively "dumb" missile was used to down the first one. Might have been the best weapon for the job. Then again it could have been a weapon that was so old and well understood that there was no risk of China obtaining data it didn't already have.
I think you might be clutching at straws with this one. You say these balloons have been floating around the world for the last 10 years... They have been watching and waiting for an F22 to come along and shoot them down, really!!?