Chinese spy balloon over US
And another balloon has been spotted, as reported on the "adf-serials" site. This one looks rather military, compared to those COMPLETELY harmless, innocent, benign Chinese ones. This was spotted snooping around Canberra at low level.
It won't find much intelligence in Canberra.
It won't find much intelligence in Canberra.
The following 3 users liked this post by BBadanov:
Note:
The US Navy Ship offshore of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is the USS Carter Hall, an LSD that departed Morehead City, North Carolina.
The Hall is home-ported at Little Creek, Virginia.
The ship recently returned from a deployment and probably off loaded embarked Marine Corps personnel and equipment at Morehead City.
Morehead City is used by Marine Corps units assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina....home of the 2nd Marine Division and MARSOC units.
There is no USS Morehead City shown on the current US Navy list of Ships.
https://www.navysite.de/ships/lsd50.htm
The search area is in about fifty feet of water....in an area that has a generally flat sandy bottom with a current that tends to the northeast. Visibility can vary from almost nil to like a swimming pool depending upon season and sea state.
Excellent weather the past few days.....warm, slack wind, ocean is almost flat.
https://tides4fishing.com/us/south-c...ity-pier-ocean
The US Navy Ship offshore of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is the USS Carter Hall, an LSD that departed Morehead City, North Carolina.
The Hall is home-ported at Little Creek, Virginia.
The ship recently returned from a deployment and probably off loaded embarked Marine Corps personnel and equipment at Morehead City.
Morehead City is used by Marine Corps units assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina....home of the 2nd Marine Division and MARSOC units.
There is no USS Morehead City shown on the current US Navy list of Ships.
https://www.navysite.de/ships/lsd50.htm
The search area is in about fifty feet of water....in an area that has a generally flat sandy bottom with a current that tends to the northeast. Visibility can vary from almost nil to like a swimming pool depending upon season and sea state.
Excellent weather the past few days.....warm, slack wind, ocean is almost flat.
https://tides4fishing.com/us/south-c...ity-pier-ocean
isnt this sort of mission what U2s carried out decades ago ; I can understand the US destroying it/ shooting it down but not righteous indignation since they have been doing the same thing with more sophsiticated kit since forever
You are correct SASless.
USS Carter Hall.
My post has been edited to correct the info.
A Landing Ship, Dock.
She would have useful tech aboard.
I really should learn how to read.
Cheers
Albatross
USS Carter Hall.
My post has been edited to correct the info.
A Landing Ship, Dock.
She would have useful tech aboard.
I really should learn how to read.
Cheers
Albatross
Note:
The US Navy Ship offshore of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is the USS Carter Hall, an LSD that departed Morehead City, North Carolina.
The Hall is home-ported at Little Creek, Virginia.
The ship recently returned from a deployment and probably off loaded embarked Marine Corps personnel and equipment at Morehead City.
Morehead City is used by Marine Corps units assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina....home of the 2nd Marine Division and MARSOC units.
There is no USS Morehead City shown on the current US Navy list of Ships.
https://www.navysite.de/ships/lsd50.htm
The search area is in about fifty feet of water....in an area that has a generally flat sandy bottom with a current that tends to the northeast. Visibility can vary from almost nil to like a swimming pool depending upon season and sea state.
Excellent weather the past few days.....warm, slack wind, ocean is almost flat.
https://tides4fishing.com/us/south-c...ity-pier-ocean
The US Navy Ship offshore of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is the USS Carter Hall, an LSD that departed Morehead City, North Carolina.
The Hall is home-ported at Little Creek, Virginia.
The ship recently returned from a deployment and probably off loaded embarked Marine Corps personnel and equipment at Morehead City.
Morehead City is used by Marine Corps units assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina....home of the 2nd Marine Division and MARSOC units.
There is no USS Morehead City shown on the current US Navy list of Ships.
https://www.navysite.de/ships/lsd50.htm
The search area is in about fifty feet of water....in an area that has a generally flat sandy bottom with a current that tends to the northeast. Visibility can vary from almost nil to like a swimming pool depending upon season and sea state.
Excellent weather the past few days.....warm, slack wind, ocean is almost flat.
https://tides4fishing.com/us/south-c...ity-pier-ocean
Last edited by albatross; 10th Feb 2023 at 23:03.
Seems naive to pass up a propaganda chance to poke your enemy in the eye, especially since the Chinese are always whining about capitalist expansion ( when they are busy concreting the China Sea reefs ). That apart, for the past few decades, surveillance has been carried out from outside the borders of the state concerned.
Why is a spy balloon designed to fly in the stratosphere where there are no clouds white or silver instead of blue? And it seems to be coated in a fine powder based on the puff of dust from missile impact.
Well if you tried to camouflage it, in order to conceal it, then that wouldn't support your weather balloon story. After all why would you want to hide a weather balloon?
Last edited by Brewster Buffalo; 9th Feb 2023 at 13:21.
Albatross,
As I live near Morehead City....and pass by the Port often....seeing the reference to the USS Morehead Ctty and knowing how Amphib Ships are named.....it took a while for the doubt to fester.
I rode the USS Denver so to see and LSD with a city name seemed likely enough until I thought to check the current ships list.
So do not feel bad at all.....it took almost a week for me to check.
As I live near Morehead City....and pass by the Port often....seeing the reference to the USS Morehead Ctty and knowing how Amphib Ships are named.....it took a while for the doubt to fester.
I rode the USS Denver so to see and LSD with a city name seemed likely enough until I thought to check the current ships list.
So do not feel bad at all.....it took almost a week for me to check.
Albatross,
As I live near Morehead City....and pass by the Port often....seeing the reference to the USS Morehead Ctty and knowing how Amphib Ships are named.....it took a while for the doubt to fester.
I rode the USS Denver so to see and LSD with a city name seemed likely enough until I thought to check the current ships list.
So do not feel bad at all.....it took almost a week for me to check.
As I live near Morehead City....and pass by the Port often....seeing the reference to the USS Morehead Ctty and knowing how Amphib Ships are named.....it took a while for the doubt to fester.
I rode the USS Denver so to see and LSD with a city name seemed likely enough until I thought to check the current ships list.
So do not feel bad at all.....it took almost a week for me to check.
The Poseidon and USCG Dolphin helicopter were also easy to find on an aviation site in position ready to pounce.
I found the media reportIng on this affair to have been on the low standard I have learned to expect. “A headline in search of a story”
I was surprised that no politician or reporter, in order to spread further fear and panic, reported that the only deaths caused in the lower 48 states by air bombardment in WW2 were caused to a church group on a picnic by bombs dropped from a Japanese balloon.
One reporter for a large US network did state in passing that a Japanese balloon had been shot down during the Pearl Harbour attack…I just about fell off the couch at that one. “If you can’t daze them with facts baffle them with bull****!”
Cheers
Albatross
Funny note on Pendant numbers: If the flagship raises a flag signal of just your pendant number “at the dip” ( about 3/4 of the way up the signal halyard ) it means “You have done something wrong and have failed to correct it.” COs must luv to see that! Almost as good as the signal “Maneuver fairly well done.”
I recall standing on the Bridge when a vessel of the Gray Funnel Line dropped Anchor off Hong Kong.....along with every inch of the chain attached thereto......after all of the racket...smoke and dust settled and a very prolonged silence by all present.....the XO was heard to say...."Gee....That went well!".
Fortunately a Fleet Tug was in port and was able to retrieve it all within a few days.
Fortunately a Fleet Tug was in port and was able to retrieve it all within a few days.
Inspected by U2
It's reported that a U2 did a flyby and likely took pictures from the cockpit as the reconnaissance optics point at the ground.
Maybe they will fit a gun pod on the U2 so they can bring the next balloon(s) down slowly.
Maybe they will fit a gun pod on the U2 so they can bring the next balloon(s) down slowly.
I recall standing on the Bridge when a vessel of the Gray Funnel Line dropped Anchor off Hong Kong.....along with every inch of the chain attached thereto......after all of the racket...smoke and dust settled and a very prolonged silence by all present.....the XO was heard to say...."Gee....That went well!".
Fortunately a Fleet Tug was in port and was able to retrieve it all within a few days.
Fortunately a Fleet Tug was in port and was able to retrieve it all within a few days.
Capt from the bridge: “ Mate! Lower the anchor.”
Newfoundland voice: “Aye, Aye Sor.” Clank, clank, splash, clank clank clank..clank…….clank…silence.
Capt from the bridge: “Mate! Is the anchor down?”
Newfoundland voice: “Well Sor I doesn’t see it floating around anywheres!”
We had best drop the hook and stop this thread drift.
Cheers.
Nice read:
Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, Holds an Off-Camera, On-The-Record Briefing on the High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon Recovery Efforts > U.S. Department of Defense > Transcript
Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, Holds an Off-Camera, On-The-Record Briefing on the High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon Recovery Efforts
Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, Holds an Off-Camera, On-The-Record Briefing on the High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon Recovery Efforts > U.S. Department of Defense > Transcript
"an Off-Camera, On-The-Record Briefing"
I presume he was inappropriately dressed?
Meanwhile people are starting to ask questions here about past balloons hovering over Japan, and why they were not taken seriously.
Also, would the government feel legally able to make a decision to pop one, and would the armed forces even be able to perform such a feat with present equipment.
It has been noted that PLAAF pilots have practiced just such a scenario, i.e. shooting down high-altitude enemy ‘weather’ balloons.
Also, would the government feel legally able to make a decision to pop one, and would the armed forces even be able to perform such a feat with present equipment.
It has been noted that PLAAF pilots have practiced just such a scenario, i.e. shooting down high-altitude enemy ‘weather’ balloons.
https://www.aerosociety.com/news/chi...7J33UC,6VL8F,1
As expected really, but why let facts get in the way of a good story!
As expected really, but why let facts get in the way of a good story!
Not only are they sending spy balloons over America, they are attacking Hawaii with space lasers! 
(Please enjoy the read at the link)
(Please enjoy the read at the link)
Spoiler