Main Forums > Politics
Pentagon decides not to shoot down Chinese spy balloon over US
MechAg94:
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/chinese-spy-balloon-united-states/
--- Quote ---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.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---“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.”
--- End quote ---
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:
--- Quote from: RoadKingLarry on February 03, 2023, 12:02:12 PM ---They should file a restraining order against the balloon.
--- End quote ---
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:
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version