Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

An update on the balloon saga: A major piece of the payload that was hanging under the balloon has been recovered
Hotair ^ | 02/13/2023 | John Sexton

Posted on 02/13/2023 8:39:10 PM PST by SeekAndFind

Let’s start with the balloon whose story is the most clear, i.e. the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US this month. That balloon was shot down over the ocean off the coast of South Carolina. You may have seen photos of portions of the balloon being pulled into a boat. These images were taken last week.

The DoD has released photos of the recovery operation off the coast of South Carolina to gather the CCP spy balloon debris.

Credit: Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Thompson


pic.twitter.com/ODRoS8I3iu

— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) February 13, 2023

Today the DOD released even more photos of the ongoing recovery effort.

New images of the Chinese spy balloon recovery off the coast of South Carolina


pic.twitter.com/dzoVfZ0XvO

— Liz Friden (@Liz_Friden) February 13, 2023

JUST IN: NORTHCOM releases photos of ongoing Chinese spy balloon recovery operations in South Carolina.


@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/K93wq5MMVH

— Micaela Burrow (@micaela_burrow) February 13, 2023

All of this material appears to be part of the skin of the balloon which was a couple hundred feet across. But the bigger news is that we’ve now recovered a major piece of the payload that was hanging under the balloon.

A crane ship on the scene where a Chinese surveillance balloon went down in waters off South Carolina has raised from the ocean bottom a significant portion of the balloon’s payload, a U.S. official said Monday.

Officials have said the payload measured as much as 30-feet-long and had all of craft’s tech gear and antennas.

So the good news is that we’ve probably a good chunk of the Chinese spy device, minus the solar panels that likely broke off when it hit the water. Now our experts will take a look and we’ll have a very good idea what this balloon was designed to capture. But as you’re also aware, the US has shot down 3 more balloons (or objects) in the past three days. Here’s a map showing where each one was found (2nd image below).


Mystery objects.#AFPGraphics map of North America showing places were mystery objects have been shot down from the sky since the downing of a Chinese balloon on February 4


pic.twitter.com/BWBeN5StsO

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 13, 2023

This evening CNN is reporting some additional details about the balloon shot down Saturday (Feb. 11) over Canada:

The unidentified flying object shot down in Canadian airspace on Saturday appeared to be a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,” according to a Pentagon memo sent to lawmakers on Monday and obtained by CNN…

The object crossed near “US sensitive sites” before it was shot down, the memo said…

The memo said that “recovery/exploitation” efforts were underway to retrieve the object shot down in Canada’s Yukon territory, noting that both US and Canadian officials were attempting to identify debris…

“It should not be assumed that the events of the past few days are connected,” the Pentagon noted in the memo.

So possibly not connected to China or to spying in general. It may just be that, in the wake of the Chinese spy balloon, NORAD is now looking for them.

A defense official said that the radar used by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was adjusted after the initial high-altitude balloon sighting. “We continue to refine detection settings, and that won’t stop just because we have identified these smaller objects,” the official said.

Maybe we’ll get an idea what the Feb. 11 balloon was about if they can find the debris. Canada is taking the lead on that investigation but the FBI is working with them. The object shot down over Lake Huron yesterday is also mentioned in the same memo. It descended slowly into the lake and may be recoverable as well. However, both balloons were much smaller than the Chinese spy balloon so there’s a lot less material to find.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said today at the White House that, for the moment, we don’t know what the other three objects/balloons were or where they came from. He was also asked if this is the new normal:

A reporter asks if people should assume "this is the regular number" of balloons or if this is are unusual

Kirby: "There are things flying at high altitudes for various purposes … we think we're seeing more because we're looking for more." pic.twitter.com/5lSwVLc89J

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) February 13, 2023

Finally, China is trying to turn this around, claiming the US has sent multiple spy balloons over their territory:

China said Monday that high-altitude balloons belonging to the United States had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since early last year.

“It is nothing rare for U.S. balloons to illegally enter other countries’ airspace,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing.

“The U.S. should first reflect upon itself and change course instead of smearing other countries,” he added…

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded on Monday by saying, “We are not flying surveillance balloons over China.”

I’m sure we’re keeping all sorts of eyes and ears on China all the time. And who knows, maybe we did send a balloon at some point. But I also know that China is embarrassed about this story and is probably desperate for any way to turn their obvious failure into some kind of story where they can claim to be equally outraged.



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Alaska; US: South Carolina
KEYWORDS: balloon; china; chinese; recovery; spy; spyballoon
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-58 next last
To: TigersEye

Oooooh, plastic and other balloon material! What a great recovery!! Those pictures are so pathetic, they’re laughable.


21 posted on 02/13/2023 9:28:49 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: volunbeer

holy cow- if that is true, then the world now sees our nation as run by the keystone cops-


22 posted on 02/13/2023 9:28:49 PM PST by Bob434
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: TigersEye


Dude on the right: "My tube socks were wrapped in the same plastic, at WalMart. Which were also from China!"

Girl on the left: "Hey! I found a penny!"
23 posted on 02/13/2023 9:32:17 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: SaveFerris
Recycle ... for de Earf.
24 posted on 02/13/2023 9:40:43 PM PST by TigersEye (The Democrat Party is criminal, unAmerican and illegitimate )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

It looks like somebody’s laundry. No tickee No shirtee.


25 posted on 02/13/2023 9:47:18 PM PST by FlingWingFlyer (Remember what FJB Brandon said, "...more than half of the women in my administration are women.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jim Noble

It should not destroy the payload other than shred it a bit or pierce it with high velocity frag.

If the missile struck the balloon itself and not the “cargo” I would expect most of the damage to the cargo would be from the impact on the water. If the cargo was in the frag envelope it would be analogous to shooting a DVD player at close range with a #6 shotgun round. You could still piece it back together and identify what it was.


26 posted on 02/13/2023 9:51:14 PM PST by volunbeer (We are living 2nd Thessalonians)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: buwaya

They should have used a training round. I believe the block II sidewinder training round has an inert warhead and it is only 300k vs 400k in cost.


27 posted on 02/13/2023 9:53:41 PM PST by volunbeer (We are living 2nd Thessalonians)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Found a use for the hovercraft!!!


28 posted on 02/13/2023 9:56:50 PM PST by steve86 (Numquam accusatus, numquam ad curiam ibit, numquam ad carcerem™)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: House Atreides

Pretty much all the military forums concur that the warhead was not detonated (if present at all).


29 posted on 02/13/2023 9:59:50 PM PST by steve86 (Numquam accusatus, numquam ad curiam ibit, numquam ad carcerem™)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

What happened with balloon 2? I’m not satisfied with “it floated down to south America don’t worry”- did I miss a “resolution”


30 posted on 02/13/2023 11:32:51 PM PST by ToastedHead
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

One thing I’ve wondered is how this balloon (or balloons) has been transmitting its data back to the ChiComs. Since China is just a wee bit beyond direct line of sight, it must be transmitting either up to a satellite, or down to ? (spies on the ground, the cellular phone network, etc.). If it’s using a satellite, then that satellite would have to be in geosynchronous orbit over the U.S. or receiving transmissions from the balloon in bursts as it passes overhead. But I’m really wondering if it isn’t transmitting down to the cell network, and maybe using Chinese components in the 5g hardware to hide what it’s doing. Maybe that’s one of the unspoken reasons for wanting to keep ChiCom companies out of our 5g network. Maybe we already knew of a specific vulnerability related to intelligence gathering and secure transmission.


31 posted on 02/13/2023 11:50:58 PM PST by noiseman (The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

What are the chances of any of this government press release article being authentic?

Answer: 0.0


32 posted on 02/14/2023 1:49:16 AM PST by ReaganGeneration2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

That first balloon is allegedly Chinese.

But the White House has denied that the others were aliens.

So they are definitely aliens.


33 posted on 02/14/2023 2:19:23 AM PST by DannyTN
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: noiseman

Most likely beamed up to #CCP Satellite


34 posted on 02/14/2023 2:46:46 AM PST by Syncro (Facts and Truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
A reporter asks if people should assume "this is the regular number" of balloons or if this is are unusual

Kirby: "There are things flying at high altitudes for various purposes … we think we're seeing more because we're looking for more."

Wow, I can't believe he said this out loud!

35 posted on 02/14/2023 3:44:02 AM PST by txlurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: noiseman

At 60,000 foot elevation the distance to the horizon (tangentially) would be about 300 miles away, so it was never without a good cell phone signal.


36 posted on 02/14/2023 4:11:22 AM PST by Fitzy_888 ("ownership society")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

clear plastic

let’s build a greenhouse!


37 posted on 02/14/2023 4:16:36 AM PST by SisterK (the final variant is communism)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jim Noble

No


38 posted on 02/14/2023 4:21:40 AM PST by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: ReaganGeneration2

totally agree
if this were Anything, photos released to the public would be totally forbidden
OPSEC

sure looks like 6 mil clear plastic sold at Home Depot


39 posted on 02/14/2023 4:23:23 AM PST by SisterK (the final variant is communism)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

5 sidewinder missiles used to shoot down 4 balloons. What’s the cost difference? Do our planes shoot bullets anymore?


40 posted on 02/14/2023 4:27:31 AM PST by Dixie Yooper (Ephesians 6:11)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-58 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson