I understand the payload may have been an issue to take down over land, but if it had been on a nefarious mission why give it time to carry through?
Should have never been allowed to enter US Airspace.
End of story.
It is similar to the big sky, small bullet principle.
Recall the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster which resulted in much more debris falling over Texas and Louisiana without injury to anyone on ground.
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Maybe so China's puppet emperor could pretend to be tough without actually doing anything major to antagonize the string pullers?
CCP Joe shot it down over a red state!
Agree... was it transmitting?
My understanding is that it is much easier to retrieve whatever it is carrying undamaged, if it falls in water, and if there was/is something hazardous that might be initiated by shooting it down it is better over the sea also.
This thing went over thousands of miles of empty wilderness but the traitors in the White let go across the entire country.
Closed the airspace, but didn’t close the landing zone to sea navigation? Lots of ships and boats along the coast. More people there than in the Sand Hills of Nebraska or Eastern Montana. Or are we just too slow?
You think Biden was concerned about people getting hurt on the ground? Think again.
This is the same Biden who is willing to send F-15s against his own people. He said so.
retrieve any valuable intelligence
THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SENT BACK TO THE CCP