Pentagon decides not to shoot down Chinese spy balloon over US

[MechAg94]

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-united-states/

U.S. military officials have decided to not shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that is hovering over the continental United States to avoid creating debris that could potentially injure people and cause damage on the ground, a senior defense official told reporters on Thursday.

“We have to do the risk/reward here,” the senior defense official said. “The first question is: Does it pose a threat — a physical, kinetic threat — to individuals in the United States, the U.S. homeland. Our assessment is it does not. Does it pose a threat to civilian aviation?  Our assessment is it does not. Does it pose a significantly enhanced threat on the intelligence side? Our best assessment right now is that it does not.”

They could be right, but leaving something overhead that may be providing real-time observation isn't the best either.

[RoadKingLarry]

They should file a restraining order against the balloon.

[WLJ]

They should file a restraining order against the balloon.

After they find out what it's preferred pronouns are.

[Ben]

This would have been a perfect opportunity to use those fancy taxpayer funded lasers and fry the sensor package. No worry about debris hitting the ground.

The Chinese claim it's a civilian meteorological balloon. It could be, but with the size of the platform, they could easily add a met package for combat weather while still carrying stuff like an  EO/IR and multispectral package. At that low of an altitude, they could get some exceptionally high resolution stuff compared to the same sensor on an orbital platform.

I'd like to hear what's up with Canada. Like if they notified us on the secret squirrel side when it was over their airspace and heading our way.

[Ben]

They've got a close up image of it now:

[WLJ]

 

[Northwoods]

What are they trying to distract us from. 

[230RN]

Random thoughts..

We could feed it misinformation.

Meteorology?  We know they're trying to weaponize climate control.  Never assume benevolence,

It could be spreading COVID-23.

I'm recalling the Jap balloons over the US in WWII.

Could it detect any subtle surface indications of deep underground activities?

Are they testing development of a way to ship goods to the US besides by ships?

Is it really a balloon Sheldon lost on his and Penny's trip to Disneyland?

Is the story really true in the first place -- could there be a motivation for deception?

"Consider everything, dismiss nothing."

[HankB]

We could feed it misinformation.

It could be spreading COVID-23.I'm recalling the Jap balloons over the US in WWII.

That was my first thought - the Chicoms making a test run with an updated version of the Jap balloons in WWII. Instead of bombs or incendiaries released by a timer, they could use GPS and command release a bioweapon once the balloon was in range of a vulnerable population. Even as crude as they were, I know at least one of the Jap balloons made it as far as New York (a long-retired colleague said he found it while deer hunting, although he didn't know what it was at the time) and I think the Chicoms in 2023 are more technically adept than 1940s Japs.

And their Wuhan lab is still in operation.

[Tuco]

snip/
And their Wuhan lab is still in operation.
snip/

Whose Who's Wuhan lab?
 

edit because oh *expletive deleted*it, please dont spank me

[bedlamite]

That was my first thought - the Chicoms making a test run with an updated version of the Jap balloons in WWII. Instead of bombs or incendiaries released by a timer, they could use GPS and command release a bioweapon once the balloon was in range of a vulnerable population. Even as crude as they were, I know at least one of the Jap balloons made it as far as New York (a long-retired colleague said he found it while deer hunting, although he didn't know what it was at the time) and I think the Chicoms in 2023 are more technically adept than 1940s Japs.

And their Wuhan lab is still in operation.

With the amount of crap they ship us and our lack of border control there are a lot easier, cheaper, and more reliable ways to deliver a package to the US.

[Northwoods]

With the amount of crap they ship us and our lack of border control there are a lot easier, cheaper, and more reliable ways to deliver a package to the US.

Yep.  And if we had the slightest inkling they’d do that a balloon is quite easy to intercept out at sea and shoot down.

I wonder if it’s even Chinese.  And it definitely smacks of something meant to distract us from other goings on.

[JTHunter]

The reports indicated that it is even above the altitude where most commercial traffic flies.
If it IS used to release a bioweapon, wouldn't be rather difficult for anything to reach the ground from that altitude?

[Nick1911]

I imagine it's a remote sensing package, sniffing... whatever.. off the electromagnetic spectrum and reporting data back to China.  What our government knows about it and what they are doing about it are things we don't and won't know.

[ConstitutionCowboy]

I have to wonder what is inside of that balloon. I'd say latch onto it somehow and bring it down intact.

Woody

[dogmush]

If we did fry it with a YAL, we damn sure wouldn't tell Cnn that we had.

[Ben]

Yeah, I can't think of a worse way to try and bring in a bioweapon than with an uncontrolled, or at best, semi-controlled balloon with a giant signature. If they were gonna do it by air, they would use UAVs with stealth tech and release at low altitude.

But aircraft are a dumb way to do it. Much easier to bring a bioweapon across the Southern border, release it on the ground in various crowded locations, and then make us figure out who brought it in and where.

[BobR]

I imagine it's a remote sensing package, sniffing... whatever.. off the electromagnetic spectrum and reporting data back to China.  What our government knows about it and what they are doing about it are things we don't and won't know.

Just the same thing our government does to us day in and day out. Maybe they have decided to outsource the collection to save a buck or two.  You may think I am kidding, am I?


bob

[WLJ]

But aircraft are a dumb way to do it. Much easier to bring a bioweapon across the Southern border, release it on the ground in various crowded locations, and then make us figure out who brought it in and where.

Just use a few semis/tankers going cross country passing through major cities along the way spraying as they go.

[Jim147]

I have to wonder what is inside of that balloon. I'd say latch onto it somehow and bring it down intact.

Woody

What do we have that can grab something that big at over 60,000 feet? I saw on semi local news that it flew over Lake City and then Whiteman here in MO. I heard several jets but never saw the balloon.

[MechAg94]

Just use a few semis/tankers going cross country passing through major cities along the way spraying as they go.

In John Ringo's zombie series, the virus was spread by those little scent/disinfectant boxes installed in a lot of public restrooms.  They supposedly traced it to one person who put them in airports on both coasts. 

[dogmush]

I think Tom Clancy had the Iranians smuggle a bioweapon in in aresol deodorant cans. Which would work pretty well.

Or, if it's persistent, just infect a couple connexs of crap before they ship.

[cordex]

If I were in the Chinese leadership I'd be particularly sensitive about deploying bioweapons these days.

[dogmush]

If I were in the Chinese leadership I'd be particularly sensitive about deploying bioweapons these days.

Because the last one was so lackluster?

[cordex]

Because the last one was so lackluster?

Because if you tell the Chinese that they've got another three years of lockdowns to look forward to then Xi is going to have his hands full.