Posted on 02/08/2023 6:47:18 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The media report of a Chinese-sponsored high-altitude balloon, the follow-up reports of its flight path over U.S. geography, and the "shoot-down" event that followed are all subject to factual testing, but on its face, the story represents one overwhelmingly incoherent assertion: that a slow-moving midlevel atmospheric balloon could violate U.S. airspace.
How could a Chinese (or any other) foreign object enter U.S. national airspace (the "NAS" or national airspace system, controlled by the DOD and the civilian FAA) without its presence known far beforehand, and its flight path not tracked and projected? And if a very slow-moving balloon, let alone a supersonic aircraft, or a hypersonic missile, is not announced over a public communication system until it is already over U.S. airspace, loitering over the Midwest, what does this say about our entire national defense system and about NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), or about general civil defense and public notification systems?
It is of interest that the September 11, 2001 tragedy was defined in part by a still unexplained failure of the entire NORAD system, declared in the final 911 Report to be systematically preoccupied with joint simulations and drills. In the case of the Chinese balloon incident, what then is offered as an explanation for its apparently unknown presence over the U.S., and its casual trajectory over military installations, nuclear facilities, industrial operations, dense population centers, and civil infrastructure?
Moreover, why was it supposedly shot down over the Atlantic Ocean, and its recovery made problematic, when it could have been captured through routine in-flight procedures, and towed effectively to a defense installation for examination? It could also have been easily compromised in its ability to maintain altitude, without destroying it, and recovered intact.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
However, this article says that it was an undeclared presence until it was reported through a purported chance observation by a civilian airline passenger near the U.S.-Canadian border.
Plastic and fabric may not be detected by radar.
Stealth camera pods are possible.
“when it could have been captured through routine in-flight procedures, ...”
At the altitudes reported, that’s not “routine”
1. If detected before entering U.S. airspace, and tracked entering U.S. airspace, then NASA, NSA, CIA, DIA et al decided not to say anything publicly. The question then is why they kept silent. (A) Did they not want the CCP to know what they knew? (B) Did they just want to keep it from the public, and if so, then how long did they think it could go before there would be public observation of it, and then they’d have to look stupid or come clean?
2. If it escaped official U.S. notice by American intelligence services, until after it had been in U.S. airspace for some time, then the question is another sort of why and how that faiure occurred.
Either way it is clear they - NASA, NSA, CIA, DIA - are in charge, Biden is not and they may be as stupid as he is.
Maybe Norad is more concerned about tracking a non-binary Santa Claus than real life security preparation.
“...it could have been captured through routine in-flight procedures...”
The question I’ve had from the very beginning.
Because it was at 65,000 feet and has the radar cross section of a bird, therefore was not detected by NORAD or ATC?
Trust me, now that this is a thing, there are going to be multi-billion Dollar contracts awarded soon to build out the capability to detect and track these balloons by NORAD in the near future.
Winner: Military-Industrial Complex.
They are not stupid. They are corrupt, treasonous, and evil
The balloon itself may not have shown on radar, but it was claimed the payload was as big as a school bus. Surely, solar panels and all would give a return. It’s sickening that a US general would loudly announce to the whole world that in effect our air defenses suck just to cover Joe Biden’s ass.
I was thinking along that line also. However since it is not the Christmas season the wokesters who should be manning the radar instead were sitting around doing their nails.
Yes! The NORAD director made a statement, “...balloon did not present a physical or military threat to North America,” ...”
with a payload as large as described, how can they say it posed no threat. We would certainly intercept an ICBM incoming so an enemy with evil intent. So knowing the balloon would be allowed passage, the enemy could get the big one over whatever target wanted.
Come-on mister, THINK!!!
There are a couple of mistakes in this article.
The FAA controls airspace, not the DOD. Yes, the FAA has granted control of many areas of airspace to the DOD throughout the country, but the DOD has to periodically renew their requests for special use airspace.
Airspace above 600000 feet is uncontolled.
Professional pilots and air traffic control have been talking about the balloon for some time. It has been seen by the naked eye and by air traffic control radar for some time.
RE: Airspace above 600000 feet is uncontolled.
Didn’t you just add a zero in the above figure for the spy balloon?
RE: Airspace above 600000 feet is uncontolled.
Didn’t you just add an extra zero in the above figure for the spy balloon?
Math is hard.
60000 feet.
thanks
How about EMP’s attached to balloons?
If Xiden is going to allow Chinese balloons to float across the USA, sowing biological nastys would be a better long term plan. Kill or mutate our food sources and save the EMP for the final attack.
“The FAA controls airspace, not the DOD.”
In a regulatory sense that’s correct. In plain English, maybe less so. If somehow the US military could detect a fleet of 50 Chinese bombers flying into US air space, FAA would be irrelevant, any any “control” would be done by DoD. Again, assuming the bombers could be detected and that DOD has any capability of defending against bombers.
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