Pentagon decides not to shoot down Chinese spy balloon over US

[MillCreek]

"preventing panic" is just a long used excuse to lie and hide embarrassing mistakes.

This is why they keep the aliens hidden from us.

[Angel Eyes]

[Perd Hapley]

An interpretation of recent events:

The US government is aware of a Chinese surveillance balloon entering our airspace, near the Aleutian Islands. It decides to keep quiet, and monitor the craft’s movements. They don’t wish to upset their masters in Beijing, especially with one of the regime’s ministers about to pay court to the suzerain.

The balloon is noticed by the Americans, and becomes cause celebre. The Biden govt. makes excuses for their failure to act, but these fail to satisfy the unruly populace.

Once the balloon has finished its US tour, the government takes the opportunity to down the vehicle before an appreciative audience. (Perhaps with the prior permission of the Chinese)

To further salve the regime’s embarrassment, it circulates a rumor that “The Former Guy” submitted to previous Chinese balloon flights, and lacked the Bidenesque courage to shoot any of them down. When this doesn’t work out, a plan is formulated between the Canadian and US governments to report multiple new UFOs, and shoot all of them down (or claim to). Even the Chinese report a UFO in their airspace.

In the end, all we know is that, whatever is in the sky, the current regime in the US is on top of it. Thanks, Joe Biden! Thanks, President Harris!

[RocketMan]

Just read a comment in a New York Post story that the device downed over Lake Huron was a 36 inch diameter helium balloon with a harmless amateur radio payload.  It was supposedly carrying an APRS transmitter and GPS locator, reporting its speed and location while making its seventh trip around the world following upper level winds.

[WindBreaker]

I'd just like to remind everyone the over 40 years ago Nena predicted this event. And there is going to be more balloons. A LOT MORE. Like 90 something more, and they'll be red.

[Ben]

Just read a comment in a New York Post story that the device downed over Lake Huron was a 36 inch diameter helium balloon with a harmless amateur radio payload.  It was supposedly carrying an APRS transmitter and GPS locator, reporting its speed and location while making its seventh trip around the world following upper level winds.

That sounds about right for a political "We've got to do something!!!!!" response to the media outfall from balloon #1.

I did hear one interesting theory on the teevee this morning though that is worth considering: That the surveillance equipment onboard any of the Chinese balloons is just a bonus, and that one thing they're doing is materials testing: Sending up balloons with various anti-radar components to see how they fare.

[Ben]

I'd just like to remind everyone the over 40 years ago Nena predicted this event. And there is going to be more balloons. A LOT MORE. Like 90 something more, and they'll be red.

 

[Tuco]

I'd just like to remind everyone the over 40 years ago Nena predicted this event. And there is going to be more balloons. A LOT MORE. Like 90 something more, and they'll be red.

I'm suprised it took this long.   

[WLJ]

Sending up balloons with various anti-radar components to see how they fare.

Speaking of which

Ukraine's army has said Russia fired 36 cruise missiles on Thursday, a day after six apparently radar-reflecting balloons were spotted over Kyiv.

Images circulating on social media show an unsophisticated design, with a radar-reflecting, cross-shaped structure trailing under the balloon suspended by a line.

Balloons with reflectors have also been spotted over the eastern region of Dnipropetrovsk in recent days.

"These objects could carry radar reflectors and certain reconnaissance equipment," said air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat. "The balloons were launched to detect and exhaust our air defence forces."

Russian balloons over Kyiv in new wave of attacks
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64661145

[WLJ]

[Ben]

Another premium article, but I have again posted the gist below. Unconfirmed, but the first balloon appears to have not only had some maneuvering ability, but it was similar tech to what Google researched a decade ago. Recall that some years back, Google employees revolted against Google doing anything that would benefit the US military, but were fine providing tech to China, which of course is the same as providing tech to the Chinese military. It will be interesting to see if there is a tech connection here.

The Chinese spy balloon had maneuvering capability and had similarities to the Google balloon project Loon, which utilized AI analytics in its operations, according to Col. (Ret.) John Mills, an author and former director of cybersecurity policy, strategy, and international affairs at the Department of Defense.

“What’s very interesting is in 2012, I was at Google and Google briefed me on Project Loon, their balloon project. And they use their advanced AI and analytics to raise and lower the balloon and they could maintain the position of a balloon by raising and lowering it. And they could also maneuver it,” Mills said in an interview recorded on Feb. 9 on China in Focus, a show on NTD TV, The Epoch Times’ sister media.

He said throughout the “spy balloon” episode that the Department of Defense has very clearly said that the Chinese balloon had maneuvering capability.

The Chinese regime maintained that it was a runaway weather balloon, but the U.S. administration has refuted such claims.

“This was a PRC surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites,” said a senior defense official speaking on background in a statement on Feb. 4, indicating that the balloon could steer itself over the United States.

Mills said that when Google briefed him about the Loon project a decade ago, he was struck by its similarities with the CIA balloon projects of the past.

“This looks a lot like the CIA project from the 50s and 60s. It was called by about 10 different code names—Skyhook, AshCan [etc.]. The Google Project Manager … had left NASA and was working for Google, goes, ‘Yes, we actually FOA’d [Freedom of Information Act] CIA, and they gave us all the plans,” said Mills.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-spy-balloon-had-maneuvering-ability-and-similarities-to-google-ai-balloon-project-ex-dod-official_5048449.html

[MillCreek]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/in-1947-high-altitude-balloon-crash-landed-roswell-aliens-never-left-180963917/

Remember that the 1947 Roswell flying saucer alien story was a cover for US balloon recon over the Soviet Union.

[Ben]

Biden has briefed the press.

https://twitchy.com/dougp-3137/2023/02/16/biden-issues-stern-warning-to-owners-of-weather-balloons-china-not-so-much/

[WLJ]

Bottlecap Balloon Brigade - a Missouri hobby group - claims its $13 weather balloon last pinged near Yukon on February 10 - hours before F-22 brought down UFO in SAME area with $400k missile
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11760443/Did-Joe-Biden-shoot-hobbyists-12-balloon-380-000-missile.html

[WLJ]

Called off the search

    Breaking News: The U.S. ended the search for two of the unidentified objects it shot down, raising the possibility that the devices will never be collected. https://t.co/IGIb6xto0B

    — The New York Times (@nytimes) February 18, 2023

[WLJ]

Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot showing Chinese spy balloon in air
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/politics/pentagon-china-balloon-selfie/index.html

[MechAg94]

They couldn't hang a gun pod on the plane and punch a few holes in it?

[RocketMan]

They couldn't hang a gun pod on the plane and punch a few holes in it?

Shooting down balloons with cannon fire has proven problematic in the past.  Doesn't work nearly as well as folks assume it would.

[French G.]

They couldn't hang a gun pod on the plane and punch a few holes in it?

The U-2 at altitude has a pretty tight flight envelope. That is the space between falling apart and falling out of the sky. Nothing that changes flight characteristics gets hung on any plane without years of math and testing.

[MechAg94]

Shooting down balloons with cannon fire has proven problematic in the past.  Doesn't work nearly as well as folks assume it would.

Nothing is a sure thing.  Just figured for helium balloons, punching a few holes would make it leak and drop eventually.  Depends on if it has make-up gas on board or if there is self-sealing capability. 

Of course, doing that over the Pacific would have been a great deal better.

[WLJ]

Nothing is a sure thing.  Just figured for helium balloons, punching a few holes would make it leak and drop eventually.  Depends on if it has make-up gas on board or if there is self-sealing capability. 

Of course, doing that over the Pacific would have been a great deal better.

Might land on a trans POC with the former and on an endangered FOC*  the latter

*Fish of Color

[Hawkmoon]

Of course, doing that over the Pacific would have been a great deal better.

What about the whales and the dolphins? Don't you care about the environment?

[RoadKingLarry]

What about the whales and the dolphins? Don't you care about the environment?

Nuke all the unborn, gay, communist, whales for Christ.

[WLJ]

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-ar-15-lower-receiver-noflyzone-15.html

[WLJ]

Take with a grain of salt but it wouldn't shock me if true

Intelligence officials have revealed a Chinese spy balloon that flew across the US for a week in February used an American internet service provider to communicate.
.....
The report stated that the balloon was connected to a US-based company and communicating with China about its navigation.

It further stated that the connection 'allowed the balloon to send burst transmissions or high-bandwidth collections of data over short periods of time' to its home base in China.

The channel has not released the name of the company.

US intelligence officials determined the Chinese spy balloon used a US internet provider to communicate
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12908959/US-intelligence-officials-determined-Chinese-spy-balloon-used-internet-provider-communicate.html