Radio audio of Chinese balloon shoot down

The War Zone; YouTube ^ | FEB 7, 2023 | Ken Harrell; Howard Altman

[FlipWilson]

I saw a different transcript:

POP!!!

[DSH]

Call sign FRANK for the F22 pilot references Frank Luke, the “Arizonia Balloon Buster” who destroyed 14 Germen observation Balloon on the Western Front in 1918

Yeah, so chosen ostensibly in "honor" of Frank Luke's exploits, but it smells more like "stolen valor" to me in this circumstance, using a couple of $130 million-a-pop aircraft to attack a slow moving gas bag.

Frank Luke was eventually KIA'd doing what he did. I wonder if these chuckleheads will paint a balloon kill mark on the fuselage of their jet, to commemorate their great achievement? Perhaps the greatest American military accomplishment since Reagan took Grenada.

[WeaslesRippedMyFlesh]

“Slingshot, engage.”

[jaydubya2]

[Larry Lucido]

[gloryblaze]

Just think. At the White House Command Center Commander in Chief Biden was running everything every step of the way. May as well have been in the cockpit himself as they fired.🤪

You could be Kamala's speech writer.

[smokingfrog]

Need a jet jockey to translate this. LoL

[smokingfrog]

[larrytown]

There is no weapon that the F-22 can carry that would be able to target the balloon that precisely.

Seems like their 20mm cannon could have done the job fine, and potentially not shredded the payload.

[Yo-Yo]

Seems like their 20mm cannon could have done the job fine, and potentially not shredded the payload.Not from 6,000 feet lower than the balloon, travelling over mach 1, while shooting at a target moving 15 knots.

[Yo-Yo]

I made an animated GIF of the shoot-down video yesterday:

[FtrPilot]

There is no weapon that the F-22 can carry that would be able to target the balloon that precisely.

I agree.

I'm surprised FRANK 1 didn't call the "Fox", just the "Splash".

2:23: FRANK01: FRANK copy. We are jackal sour. We are timber sweet with you. However, we are not seeing any 12-sixes from you.

2:33: EAGLE01: Eagle copy. I’m gonna take some space and try to have a good run-in to see if we get 12-sixes off three mikes.

Anyone know what "12-sixes" are?

How about "12-sixes off three mikes"?

[smokingfrog]

[OrangeHoof]

Chinese Spy: “We still cannot rocate this Rimbaugh person...”

[Chainmail]

During an actual war, will our Air Force be this chatty?

[larrytown]

So, the F-22 (or any American aircraft) isn’t capable of puncturing a balloon at 62,000 feet with any weapon cheaper than an AIM-9X?

That’s new information for everybody to know.

[EandH Dad]

The balloon was 200 feet tall. How many F-22’s would it take to put enough 20 mm holes in it to make a difference. Imagine a regular hot air balloon and how many .22 bullets it would take to bring that down. Our pilots did what they were supposed to do. Assuming the spy gear was neutralized over Montana, or earlier, it was the right plan to drop it over the horizon in shallow salt water.