Chinese spy balloon over US
Thread Starter
Chinese spy balloon over US
https://www.yourbigsky.com/billings-...ing-statement/
Harking back to Japanese fire balloons in WWII?!
Not the first time in recent years - and they don't want to take `kinetic action' (FFS, just say shoot it down) because of the danger of debris to those on the ground.
Harking back to Japanese fire balloons in WWII?!
Not the first time in recent years - and they don't want to take `kinetic action' (FFS, just say shoot it down) because of the danger of debris to those on the ground.
Last edited by tartare; 2nd Feb 2023 at 23:02.
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https://www.yourbigsky.com/billings-...ing-statement/
Harking back to Japanese fire balloons in WWII?!
Not the first time in recent years - and they don't want to take `kinetic action' (FFS, just say shoot it down) because of the danger of debris to those on the ground.
https://twitter.com/wildweatherdan/s...052801/photo/1
Harking back to Japanese fire balloons in WWII?!
Not the first time in recent years - and they don't want to take `kinetic action' (FFS, just say shoot it down) because of the danger of debris to those on the ground.
https://twitter.com/wildweatherdan/s...052801/photo/1
https://www.news.com.au/technology/i...62bde74004dac5
also last year, sighting over Philippines
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/dipl...outh-china-sea
cheers
Yes, we had a thread about this somewhere, the airfield and the giant hangar for it, and how it was based on a US military experiment; this was also seen observing Taiwan.
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Thread Starter
Would be interesting to get hands on the payload.
But I guess too high for any type of drone with scissors...!
Wonder if it'll `drift' south-east over Whiteman...?
But I guess too high for any type of drone with scissors...!
Wonder if it'll `drift' south-east over Whiteman...?
Senior Defense Official Holds a Background Briefing on High-Altitude Surveillance BalloonKey points:
Very high confidence aircraft is PRC asset
Aircraft is a surveillance asset
Limited surveillance value relative to other PRC surveillance assets
PRC officials have been engaged “with urgency”
Very high confidence aircraft is PRC asset
Aircraft is a surveillance asset
Limited surveillance value relative to other PRC surveillance assets
PRC officials have been engaged “with urgency”
Question raised by that briefing: If they have taken steps against surveillance from the balloon, but LEO satellites provide similar or better coverage then doesn't that run a risk of creating an observable delta? OTOH, It can certainly be a good time for a solid misinformation plan. Are there any secret carrot farms now laid out in the area? Lots of radio chatter concerning Christopher Robin's woodland friend?
The AF is not saying the altitude, but a couple of people with theodolites or sextants could get some known separation to find that out, most easily around dawn or dusk. About 2 -5 miles ought to be enough for non-precision equipment to manage a +/-5% estimate (any school children in Montana looking for a project?) Decent astronomical telescopes should have sufficient precision to get better results. Don't forget to correct for curvature of the Earth!
The AF is not saying the altitude, but a couple of people with theodolites or sextants could get some known separation to find that out, most easily around dawn or dusk. About 2 -5 miles ought to be enough for non-precision equipment to manage a +/-5% estimate (any school children in Montana looking for a project?) Decent astronomical telescopes should have sufficient precision to get better results. Don't forget to correct for curvature of the Earth!
If a drone or balloon with a telescope was to hover over my garden I would shoot it down. 
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https://www.yourbigsky.com/billings-...ing-statement/
Harking back to Japanese fire balloons in WWII?!
Not the first time in recent years - and they don't want to take `kinetic action' (FFS, just say shoot it down) because of the danger of debris to those on the ground.
https://twitter.com/wildweatherdan/s...052801/photo/1
Harking back to Japanese fire balloons in WWII?!
Not the first time in recent years - and they don't want to take `kinetic action' (FFS, just say shoot it down) because of the danger of debris to those on the ground.
https://twitter.com/wildweatherdan/s...052801/photo/1
https://worldpopulationreview.com/st...ana-population
behind only Alaska and Wyoming in terms of least densley populated states in the US....
Wonder if its steerable? Photo on BBC seems to show solar type panels hanging below it. Any unusual movements from Chinese vessels in N Atlantic? Wot goes up, must come down.......
The similar Google Loon balloons 'steered' by changing altitude to get into suitable winds. Seemed quite effective for use as a radio relay.
"Google's Project Loon uses controllable altitude superpressure balloons to achieve flights of over 300 days.["
Google Loon is now closed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loon_LLC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpressure_balloon
https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/k...loon-balloons/
"Google's Project Loon uses controllable altitude superpressure balloons to achieve flights of over 300 days.["
Google Loon is now closed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loon_LLC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superpressure_balloon
https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/k...loon-balloons/
Last edited by jimjim1; 3rd Feb 2023 at 10:53.
Yeah, Montana being so densely populated......not.
You could shoot the balloon down with minimal risk of hitting anyone!
