GazzaS Posted February 3, 2023 Share Posted February 3, 2023 Yes, America is being beset by balloons from the Orient. Apparently this balloon can be maneuvered by the Chinese who sent it here. It's already over Montana. 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggtim Posted February 3, 2023 Share Posted February 3, 2023 I marked this one "confused", because why the heck haven't they shot that POS down yet? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerWomble Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 Sure it's not another Amazon nonsense ..? Cheap junk from China + invading your privacy . 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 Let's shoot the damn thing down and be done with it.🎯 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted February 4, 2023 Author Share Posted February 4, 2023 1 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 Saw the one they just shot down from my front yard earlier today. EDIT: I had to convince my neighbor that his .50 BMG would not reach it. But hey, he was ready! 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted February 4, 2023 Author Share Posted February 4, 2023 3 minutes ago, ScottsGT said: Saw the one they just shot down from my front yard earlier today. EDIT: I had to convince my neighbor that his .50 BMG would not reach it. But hey, he was ready! Glad they shot it down. I wonder how much intel it gathered. They waited for it to reach the Atlantic first, I'm guessing so that there's no collateral damage. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 It’s not intel I’m worried about. It’s what they may have been dropping from the air that worries me. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 3 hours ago, ScottsGT said: It’s not intel I’m worried about. It’s what they may have been dropping from the air that worries me. EXACTLY ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 2 hours ago, Martinnfb said: Think about this for a second. First military shoot down in anger over the CONUS. That pilots going to have some bragging rights. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 He cut some gnarly curves up there that's for sure. F-22 and AIM-9X 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 We all already knew that RCAF is more-less of a joke, what shocked me is that US/NORAD let a spy ballon enter its airspace uninterrupted. Somebody is going to get demoted really bad 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted February 5, 2023 Author Share Posted February 5, 2023 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 We were joking around earlier today that we were surprised our governor didn’t send up the SCANG’s F-16’s to shoot it down. Just imagine Foghorn Leghorn telling the world that he was protecting the sovereignty of the great state of South Carolina. Yea, his nickname is Governor Foghorn. Told my buddy he’s on his last term as governor and can’t run again so he didn’t need the free press. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 clearest photo so far 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted February 5, 2023 Administrators Share Posted February 5, 2023 So a million dollar missile to drop a plastic Chinese balloon? You think the gun might have been a bit less messy? No matter, the Chinese won BIG with this one as our people in charge dithered and wrung their hands for days on end while they sat there, wondering what to do. This could have been easily dropped over the Aleutians. The US looks positively stupid and weak, here. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 6 hours ago, Clunkmeister said: So a million dollar missile to drop a plastic Chinese balloon? You think the gun might have been a bit less messy? No matter, the Chinese won BIG with this one as our people in charge dithered and wrung their hands for days on end while they sat there, wondering what to do. This could have been easily dropped over the Aleutians. The US looks positively stupid and weak, here. Couldn’t have said it better myself. For the life of me, cannot figure out why not a few holes punched in it from the mini-gun and let it slowly descend where it could have been recovered intact. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARU 5137 Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Goodness ME.. Very daring indeed. And I saw on the news it has been brought down. (I wonder though, did any info and photos of the airbase *the spy balloon took/may have taken *were already related back to them before its demise?). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Ernie is so right - what in the world were we waiting for? Someone should have woken up and shot it down the second it crossed into our air space. Gee, Russia and China had no issues on shooting down a U2 and trying to do the same to the SR71. All this shows is how slow we are to react and who knows how much data and information was collected and sent back to China. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 It’s a wrap https://www.acc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3288588/f-22-safely-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon-off-south-carolina-coast/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 one more 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerWomble Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Pentagon might have thought shooting it down after it had done some it's mission , and then examining the remains to see what it was up might be worth the loss of prestige. Also might have depended on what it was flying over . TBH we spy on China with satellites , this balloon looks low tech response to me , bit like all the Russian drones that are nothing more than an old Canon SLR wedged into an RC aircraft. Shite in other words . 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjones Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 2 hours ago, ScottsGT said: Couldn’t have said it better myself. For the life of me, cannot figure out why not a few holes punched in it from the mini-gun and let it slowly descend where it could have been recovered intact. The gun door on the F-22 opens automatically when the trigger is pulled. Apparently it's not designed/able to function properly at that altitude (58,000 ft). Besides, it's way more cool to use a high tech, expensive AIM 9/X to bring down a balloon. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjones Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 1 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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