Posted on 02/03/2023 5:05:40 AM PST by Red Badger
The U.S. military is currently monitoring a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been hovering for several days over the northern United States.
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement on Thursday that the “high-altitude surveillance balloon” poses no immediate threat to the United States and will be monitored for the time-being.
“The United States Government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” said Ryder, adding:
The U.S. government, including NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely. The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.
According to NBC News, the balloon was initially spotted over Billings, Montana, after it had flown over the Aleutian Islands and through Canada. The exact whereabouts of the balloon remains unknown to the public at this time.
“Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective over and above what the PRC can do through other means,” “Nevertheless we are taking all necessary steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Monitoring? Or IS someone being paid under the table to let this balloon continue its merry way? Sorry but I’m at the point where everything reported by the FBI, DOJ, the Pentagon and the majority of swamp demons at the Hill who are so corrupt and sinister that everything that bad happens in this nation races an eyebrow! Color me skeptical but someone is being paid mega, mega, millions to let this spy balloon fly over our nation. Specially over our military bases. Who would benefit from such a thing? Think about it. Just a real quick note, that balloon was released from inside our nation that means our open border invitation by the socialist and the veggie has invited thousands, wrap your mind over, thousands of communist spies from all over the world. Surely this nation is under God’s judgment. There’s no turning back …there’s no turning back.
This is a subtle challenge to Biden.
China knows what is on the laptop so don’t you dare
shoot it down.
Operational altitude of an F15 is 65,000 feet. Strip it all external weapons except an air to air missile and it is considerably higher. Take off will full fuel load and get to max altitude and as the fuel is burned off the aircraft can get even higher. Fire your air to air missile, that balloon has a huge radar signature. Return to base and have a beer.
Oh, just one observation. Who would benefit from this? You’re right China has satellites. Everybody’s got satellites, except one group who continues to call us Satan and that is the middle eastern nations. Especially Iran, Iraq you name it who would benefit from eyes in the air. They don’t have the capability or the pleasure of satellites so this is the best they can do. They’re looking for the right spot to cause chaos and even probably the perfect place to detonate homemade explosive in heavily populated areas or military bases. Don’t doubt this for a minute. Everything is on the table as of today.
Haven’t heard all I can yet, but why aren’t we doing something to bring it down?
Maybe it cannot be “shot down” as everyone glibly states, but surely there is a way to take control of this thing? Like fly a chopper to it, or a plane into it, or drones? What about a UAV (a true drone)?
Once the contents are determined to be non-threatening, we can return it.
To allow this to continue to float across the US unimpeded, without any attempt to find out what it actually in it is plain stupid. Unless, of course, the powers that be are actually complicit in it.
How about a bullet?........................
The Aleutians are sparse U.S. Territory with a lot of ocean in between. There must be some kind of right of innocent passage (as in the Taiwan Strait). It does not appear to be much of a threat. It may just be a probe to see how we react, or as the Chinese say, an innocent scientific/meteorological balloon gone astray. I would keep my powder dry and watch developments. I worked with a guy who in a prior life as an Air Force officer used to chase U.S. balloons that landed in the U.S. He and a team with a truck would pull up to a farm, get the farmer to sign a release, and cart the balloon off. IIR, the farmer “owned” the balloon, and could make a claim for damages. Generally, he would be happy to have it taken away.
The balloon could be used by the Chinese to chart the jet stream over North America. You never know.
This is a direct provacation that should have been dealt with the minute it hit the Aleutian islands. the fact that this balloon is still in the air is beyond belief much less letting it hover over a missile field in Montana.
“I think Trump would have brought it down”
Trump is calling for it to be shot down. Of course it should be shot down. The whole thing is outrageous!
Catch the balloon tie frequency jammer to it confusion ensues.
Well… Gee, I’m really glad they’re “monitoring” it.
I hope they’re waving and smiling too… don’t want the commie Dinks to get the idea that we’re unfriendly or anything.
They’re ChiCom Buttboy in the WH is having his pudding cup right now, after all.
Sounds like a plan.
From what I’ve seem on the internet, GPS co-ordinates in PRC (People’s Republic of China, not Politically Repressive Canaduh), are skewed because of fear of attack. Good to return the favor!
Indeed
50K feet max but usually lower than that.
From my book on Linebacker II, the USAF over North Vietnam, 1972 (that I possess but didn’t write); published by Air University Press.
Except again, it may be some heavy item that might do damage. A single bullet - how do you get it in there? Fly by with chopper, sniping out of that?
Surely there must be a reasonable way to retrieve it without much damage in a l sparsely populated area.
I’d think we’d want to get this plummy prize to verify what it is and what it is doing.
I’m suggesting they were studying the patterns How the wind flow goes because if they are going to use Certain types of weapons they need To know the exact flow of it see they could put something in Deadwood And if the currents are right would carry it right to Washington DC this is more specific knowledge and just knowing the wind blows from west to east
Imagine AI taking in data of the flow of the winds in north America And making up war Scenarios for dispersion of weapons.
How do you know it’s a “spy balloon” and not a weapon?
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