Chinese Spy Balloon over the USA.

Ubbquittious · 05-02-2023 8:46pm

The yanks wasted a $400k missile on a DJI hanging off a plastic bag

fly_agaric · 05-02-2023 9:03pm

Large bit of gear on the underside of that (from photos) for just a "dji [drone] hanging off a plastic bag" lol. China seem to be displeased it was shot down and are issuing threats over it (what's new?).

https://news.sky.com/story/china-threatens-further-actions-over-us-downing-of-suspected-spy-balloon-12803705

A reaction that is a little erm, inconsistent with idea it was just some science experiment blown off course, but I suppose the rubbish put out by the govt. there can't be expected to make sense.

Kermit.de.frog · 05-02-2023 11:39pm

US got more Intel from the balloon than China did which is gas

OneEightSeven · 06-02-2023 12:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120205381#Comment_120205381

They used the jetstream: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_stream

AllForIt · 06-02-2023 1:34am

Obviously when China threatens 'further action' they are bluffing.

This is so ridiculous, it's all like a James Bond movie.

06-02-2023 6:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120206956#Comment_120206956

Fun fact. The Japanese used the jet stream to try to fire bomb the US (mostly ineffectively) during world war II. This isn’t a new tactic.

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/project-fugo-the-japanese-balloon-bombs/

Atlantic Dawn · 06-02-2023 7:41am

The US should bill China for $600k, the missile cost plus works associated bill on the day in question.

kevthegaff · 06-02-2023 9:09am

They should send one over China with Nancy Pelosis mug on it

Mellor · 06-02-2023 1:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120207156#Comment_120207156

when China laughs in their face the US would look pretty dumb.

Corben Dallas · 06-02-2023 1:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120206124#Comment_120206124

"... now once again Dougal these cows are near ...... and those cows are far away"

"That's mad Ted!"

MudSpud · 06-02-2023 4:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058282812/chinese-spy-balloon-over-the-usa

Can't see why the Chinese would use a balloon to spy from the sky when a satellite could do a better job. Why use a balloon that could easily be seen and shot down? Makes no sense. Personally I think it was a weather balloon and the US used the opportunity to vilify China and they shot it down over the sea so that its on board equipment couldn't be verified as being benign.

SortingYouOut · 06-02-2023 4:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120208381#Comment_120208381

There's also a lot we don't know about the technology attached to the balloon, maybe they can collect certain information down at that level that a satellite cannot.

If it is a weather balloon, not one but two of them malfunctioning within such a short space of time would lead me to question their navigation abilities and if they are so prone to going off course, why doesn't this happened more often? Maybe it's just a coincidence that two happened to malfunction at the same time and head for the Americas.

MudSpud · 06-02-2023 4:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120200428#Comment_120200428

Ailerons? On something that floats?

kneemos · 06-02-2023 5:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120208416#Comment_120208416

There are high speed winds at that altitude apparently. Might have some kind of set up for direction. They can probably spy on half the country from that altitude anyway though.

riffmongous · 06-02-2023 7:03pm

The thing about a satellite is that in order for it to stay above a particular spot on the earth it has to be a very specific height, otherwise it will be out of sync with the rotation of the earth and you'll only gain information for brief periods every few days. And I presume that would make it much easier for the US to spot any suspicious loitering satellites.

The balloon was so high up that it was well above the high wind speeds in the jet stream, and so high that it was in the most stable part of the stratosphere where winds are actually quite low, but it's still going to have some movement.. not to mention it would have had to have been at the jet stream height at some point to actually get to the US which seems to have a very low chance of actually getting to somewhere interesting.

The whole thing is very odd, and just seems to make the US look a bit stupid imo, from the hypocrisy to the overreaction.

kneemos · 06-02-2023 7:09pm

Why the bad blood between them anyway?

Is it purely down to Trump being an asshole?

cafflingwunts · 06-02-2023 8:49pm

The disadvantage these low Earth orbit satellites have is that they are continually moving around the Earth. It takes them about 90 minutes to do one orbit around the Earth. That turns out to be pretty fast in terms of taking clear photographs of what’s going on below.

The second type of satellite orbit is called geosynchronous orbit, and that’s much farther away. It has the disadvantage that it’s harder to see things clearly when you’re very, very far away. But they have the advantage of what we call persistence, allowing satellites to capture images continuously. In those orbits, you’re essentially overlooking the exact same piece of ground on the Earth’s surface all the time because the satellite moves in exactly the same way the earth rotates – it rotates at the exact same speed.

A balloon in some ways gets the best of those. These balloons are much, much closer to the ground than any of the satellites, so they can see even more clearly. And then, of course, balloons are moving, but they’re moving relatively slowly, so they also have a degree of persistence. However, spying is not usually done these days with balloons because they are a relatively easy target and are not completely controllable.

From here; https://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20230206-chinese-spy-balloon-over-the-u-s-an-aerospace-expert-explains-how-the-balloons-work-and-what-they-can-see?page=0,1

It was being monitored on it's travels all the way from Canada. This was allowed into US airspace for political reasons.

Overheal · 06-02-2023 8:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120208809#Comment_120208809

Trump maintained bank accounts in china and trademarks - while he was president, he paid more in tax to the Chinese Communist Party than he did to the United States IRS.

Why Trump treated them as double-faced as he did remains open to interpretation.

Overheal · 06-02-2023 10:39pm

Thank him for his bravery:

(warning: satire)

Overheal · 07-02-2023 12:26am

"The Five" try and hash out their talking points on how we can still blame this on Joe Biden

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/so-much-astronomically-worse-jessica-tarlov-shoots-down-critics-angry-biden-didnt-destroy-chinese-spy-balloon-earlier/

The 3.5 mins of them debriefing on balloongate is in the link, video (region permitting?)

07-02-2023 2:24am

To be honest, I find China's protestations a bit ridiculous. If the US had sent a large 'airship' over China there'd be absolute outrage from Beijing. Their response is risible. The US Government response (whatever about the media and certain rantings of irrelevant politicians) has been rather muted, pragmatic and very calm, all things considered.

It'll be fascinating to see what was onboard, assuming they publish the details eventually.

Overheal · 07-02-2023 6:24pm

"ATLANTIC OCEAN -

@USNavy

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023."

"The Department of Defense released images of the balloon being recovered from the water, though no specific debris can be seen. They also released images of the fighter jet taking off on Saturday to take down the ballon based on the president’s orders."

^ (The real Ghost of Myrtle Beach!)

Cue someone complaining over the release of the photos.

Strumms · 07-02-2023 8:22pm

The balloon was reported to be 200ft tall and weighed about 1000 lbs, that’s a very significant sized piece of kit and payload.

the only solution was to shoot it down. The Chinese would have done precisely the same had the shoe been on the other foot.

my guess is it wasn’t there by accident…. The Chinese knew it was going there, knew the US would shoot it down. Why ? A deliberate attempt to provoke the US ? A deliberate attempt to ratchet up tensions between the two nations, escalate global tensions… ?

kneemos · 07-02-2023 8:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212751#Comment_120212751

Don't get why either side would want to. Bad for business.

Strumms · 07-02-2023 8:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120212756#Comment_120212756

True, but US officials say similar balloons flew over the US at least three times during Donald Trump’s presidency and once earlier in Joe Biden’s, but this flight was the longest in duration and it is the first time those details have been made public.

so there was / is an element of deliberate provocation.

Overheal · 08-02-2023 2:29am

"Everyone always asks, 'what' the Chinese Balloon is doing... but not 'how' the Chinese balloon is doing. :("

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43wVDiZs8k

Chinese Spy Balloon: Legal To Shoot Down?

(there's actually a really entertaining essay in here about national sovereignty)

08-02-2023 2:32am

It’s a big enough load being carried that if it were to drop over land it would do serious damage.

I suspect there’s also an advantage to shooting it down over the sea to ensure that the payload wasn’t destroyed. I would assume they want it as intact as possible so they can analyse what exactly it was looking at and what capabilities it has etc

Theres less chance of it being badly damaged if it drifts relatively gently down into water than onto hard ground.

Strumms · 08-02-2023 4:04am

As if Covid wasn’t enough first the Russians and now the Chinese starting this crap….not exactly what the world needs.

I was just wondering do they perceive Biden as a weakling ? he’s an 80 year old man. Looking it all of a sudden. The oldest president in the history of the US… falling up aircraft steps, slurring and stuttering in front of the cameras and not short of a general gaffe or two.

wondering is it just a general check up of the wellbeing of the US defence systems….probing reactions of that and Biden himself.

funny old times we are living in. The China and Russia alignment and closeness is not a good thing.

The correct reaction was to destroy the balloon..