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 ...
Since the 1960s we have messed around with modifications to aircraft to hook things. I will admit, they were mostly at low speed and low altitude, but I should think shooting it down would be easier. If the technology is solid state, data could survive a hard landing. I suppose they would want to do it in a remote area but closer to a suitable base to retrieve it from. Unless, of course, we are now a wholey owned subsidiary of China, and don’t want to actually retrieve it.
If it said MAGA on it in big red letters it’d be a smoking hole in the ground by now.
Unstated is the exact altitude but it is reported to be 80 to 120,000 thousand feet. Conventional fighters don’t fly that high.
How can it be shot down at say 100,000 feet altitude?
It seems to have escaped china and continues to gain altitude until it can go no higher.
Getting sensitive information from this administration just means sending a cleaning crew to one of Joe’s addresses.
A ballon cannot hover ….
It would be the most comical first strike weapon.
Slow as possible, white balloon, with Chinese parts attached…
FACT!
A lot of “news” refers to this as a Chinese spy balloon. What makes them think it is Chinese and a “spy” balloon and not a Canadian weather balloon? I doubt it has a PRC logo on it. I guess if one of our “allies” lost a weather balloon over the USA, they would inform us?
Lol, and the balloon is white…
It’s most interesting that they haven’t released any information about how the balloon came to be at that latitude.
...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.....
According to Fake News, these balloons snuck past NORAD and our fighter jets while moving over barren terrain
Well, it could have been worse, the balloons could have been heavy bombers
Morning radio report told me they will not shoot down the balloons, because the debris could fall into a populated area and hit someone in the head.
Cept, the balloons are positioned over missle silos
I guess spy equipment falling on a missle silo is worse than hitting someones head
Totally agree.
What the heck is wrong with us, U.S.?
Monkey Werx, months ago, reporting balloon in the same area. He thought they were Google’s balloons.
Mebe one in the same thing
Maybe a knowledgeable freeper can answer this for me. How high could the SAMs used in Vietnam get to our planes?
Can they at least somehow disable/fry its electronics?
SHOOT. IT. DOWN, already.
Get the sky hook!
It’s just another fentanyl delivery. Nothing to see here. Move along.....
I will argue that while the balloon is over Montana, that is accidental.
Once the balloon is aloft at say 100,000 feet, it can’t be guided and the current position is the result of winds rather than guidance. I argue further that Chinese satellites are better at gathering intelligence and nothing is or can be done to stop them
There is zero reason to test a system like that over the actual target.
The first use wouldn’t be a test.
Why is a secret balloon white, against a blue sky?
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