Chinese spy balloon over US
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I live in Charlotte, NC. This thing came over us this morning, the US airforce was clearly following and watching it closely, with multiple contrails visible around it. Absolutely surreal...
True, but ducking and preparing for incoming nevertheless.
Salute!
Actchally, If it were a Raptor, then pilot could wear a p-suit or simply pull up and gun the balloon to allow a kinder more gentle descent of the payload for recovery and analysis.
Using an AIM-9X from an F-22 seems overkill, and even an F-16 or F-15 could do a snap-up and an Aim-9. Even back in 1966 we practiced snap=ups versus high targets like U-2, B-57 and even the BOMARC interceptor doing 3.+ M and at 70,000 feet. If we were not cruising above 50,000 ft, we did not need the p-suits and the rules allowed us to go up for the shot and then pull back down to follow all the altitude/pressure rules. BFD.
Anyway, looks like one bullet, one kill. Even versus a stoopid floating balloon.
Gums sends...
Actchally, If it were a Raptor, then pilot could wear a p-suit or simply pull up and gun the balloon to allow a kinder more gentle descent of the payload for recovery and analysis.
Using an AIM-9X from an F-22 seems overkill, and even an F-16 or F-15 could do a snap-up and an Aim-9. Even back in 1966 we practiced snap=ups versus high targets like U-2, B-57 and even the BOMARC interceptor doing 3.+ M and at 70,000 feet. If we were not cruising above 50,000 ft, we did not need the p-suits and the rules allowed us to go up for the shot and then pull back down to follow all the altitude/pressure rules. BFD.
Anyway, looks like one bullet, one kill. Even versus a stoopid floating balloon.
Gums sends...
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It looked like it was 60k or less when it hit the East coast. (Not really sure about the weird secrecy surrounding this event, it makes me uncomfortable. We knew exactly when where and what was going to happen to Payne Stewart and his crew when they were still buzzing along asleep for 6 hrs before they crashed in ND 10 yrs ago)
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So presumably, F22 pilots would only wear a full pressure suit if expecting to fly at or above FL60 for a while i.e. the Armstrong line?
Otherwise it's pressure breathing etc?
Otherwise it's pressure breathing etc?
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Of course all this is assuming it wasn’t transmitting the data home in real time and China already has what they wanted.
China might try to politically use it as a bait. Now that the US shot down an overflight they might claim to be authorised to do the same to anything over "their" reefs airspace or similar? There is certainly more behind this. It's all too visible, a show piece.
Care to speculate what they wanted as it was known it was there so any sensitive emissions should have been minimised and its track could not exactly have been controlled, so anything sensitive it flew over was pretty much random. The best they could hope for was picking up lots of cell phone calls of people asking each other if they could see it.
So if it really was a spy deice, the best thing to do is let if fly cross the whole country, then shoot it down as it leaves
One explanation was they didn't want to risk collateral damage on the ground
Now it is said they want to recover and inspect it, but it will be harder to find
One explanation was they didn't want to risk collateral damage on the ground
Now it is said they want to recover and inspect it, but it will be harder to find
So if it really was a spy deice, the best thing to do is let if fly cross the whole country, then shoot it down as it leaves
One explanation was they didn't want to risk collateral damage on the ground
Now it is said they want to recover and inspect it, but it will be harder to find
One explanation was they didn't want to risk collateral damage on the ground
Now it is said they want to recover and inspect it, but it will be harder to find
Lots of folks not under the balloon’s flight path and in the political opposition were calling for shooting it down overland on every channel on which they could get in front of a camera. imagine these same folks outrage if it hit anything or anybody.or even came close to anything. Bringing it down as it left the coast was IMO the best option.
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Salute!
tartare Back in the day, we only had to wear a p-suit for "sustained flight" above 50K and maybe shorter flights way up there like those NF-104 jets. I am not even sure the Streak Eagle guys wore a p-suit and they toped out aroung 100K, certainly above 90K
Our high altitude profile in the VooDoo and 106 was at 49K and go fast, then pull up for the shot. As a target, we cruised at 49K and 1,1M or so for 10 or 15 minutes in basic flying suit.
Well, guess the crew chief can paint a timny balloon on the side of the jet now.
Gums sends...
tartare Back in the day, we only had to wear a p-suit for "sustained flight" above 50K and maybe shorter flights way up there like those NF-104 jets. I am not even sure the Streak Eagle guys wore a p-suit and they toped out aroung 100K, certainly above 90K
Our high altitude profile in the VooDoo and 106 was at 49K and go fast, then pull up for the shot. As a target, we cruised at 49K and 1,1M or so for 10 or 15 minutes in basic flying suit.
Well, guess the crew chief can paint a timny balloon on the side of the jet now.
Gums sends...
