China Spy Balloon

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Could we have fired bullets at the balloon until the increasing number of bullet holes caused the balloon to descend slowly?

Could we have the shooter on the ground? If not, in a flying 747?

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Type: Question • Score: 10 • Views: 1,777 • Replies: 39

[+4] - joe 2nation - 02/05/2023Watching the video of the shoot down you can see the equipment package falling. I'm sure the US Navy was nearby for the splashdown. They will retrieve it. The CIA will be on board with their...
[+4] - Frank Apisa - 02/05/2023[quote="joe 2nation"] Watching the video of the shoot down you can see the equipment package falling. I'm sure the US Navy was nearby for the splashdown. They will retrieve it. The...
[+4] - izzythepush - 02/06/2023[quote="gollum"] We could shoot it from a 747 or another airplane. [/quote] This isn't you "trying to learn" at all. It's you saying what should be done from a position...
[+4] - izzythepush - 02/06/2023[quote="gollum"] joe 2nation- I did not know that fighter jets carry machine guns. [/quote] What do you think they fought with, banter?
[+4] - coluber2001 - 02/06/2023Chinese reconnaissance balloons are good at collecting information, such as what kind of beer we drink and how good we are at throwing beer bottles....
[+4] - Wilso - 02/06/2023The most important question to come out of this whole episode is "Who the fvck would surveil the US looking for intelligence?"
[+4] - jcboy - 02/07/2023Chinese spy balloon flying over Red States. :P [img]https://www.linkpicture.com/q/red_12.jpg[/img]
[+3] - joe 2nation - 02/05/2023The balloon was at 58,000 feet altitude when it was shot down. That's a bit higher than any bullet can reach. Joe(way up there)Nation
[+3] - joe 2nation - 02/05/2023Because there has been such interest in this situation we may actually be told a few things about what the Navy and the CIA find. They may tell us bullshit. My favorite salvage story of all...
[+3] - Frank Apisa - 02/06/2023[quote="joe 2nation"] Because there has been such interest in this situation we may actually be told a few things about what the Navy and the CIA find. They may tell us bullshit....

View best answer, chosen by gollum

@gollum,

Looks like it was already shot down.

China protests as US fighter jets shoot down suspected spy balloon

1 Reply

@jcboy,

jcboy-

Yes, it was.

I thought my way we could inspect all the undamaged equipment.

We wouldn't have the cost of a missile, only the cost of some bullets.

1 Reply

I was hoping we would leave it be...not shoot it down.

Shooting it down almost certainly did nothing. Any spy efforts associated with the balloon already was in China.

But...there were political considerations.

1 Reply

@gollum,

The balloon was at 58,000 feet altitude when it was shot down. That's a bit higher than any bullet can reach.

Joe(way up there)Nation

1 Reply

@Frank Apisa,

Watching the video of the shoot down you can see the equipment package falling. I'm sure the US Navy was nearby for the splashdown.
They will retrieve it.
The CIA will be on board with their screwdrivers at the ready.

Joe(Look at this, Wally!) Nation

2 Replies

@joe 2nation,

joe 2nation wrote:

Watching the video of the shoot down you can see the equipment package falling. I'm sure the US Navy was nearby for the splashdown.
They will retrieve it.
The CIA will be on board with their screwdrivers at the ready.

Joe(Look at this, Wally!) Nation

Yup. We may know more in a week or two. Or, we may not. The CIA can be tight-lipped at times.

1 Reply

@joe 2nation,

How high can a bullet reach?

We could shoot it from a 747 or another airplane.

2 Replies

@gollum,

That is so typical of you, you know absolutely nothing about the material used for the ballon, how strong it is, or the consequences of firing a bullet of any calibre at it, yet you still think you know better than the experts.

1 Reply

@izzythepush,

izzythepush-

You are correct that I know absolutely nothing about the material used for the balloon, how strong it is, or the consequences of firing a bullet of any caliber at it. I do not think that I know better than the experts.

I come to able2know to learn from smart people like yourself.

1 Reply

@gollum,

At an altitude of 58,000 feet the marksman would need to fire from within a pressurized cabin, which would most likely need to be specially constructed for a single mission. Using a weapon already installed on a fighter jet makes more sense.

1 Reply

@hightor,

hightor-

Could the persons on the 747 (or 707, etc.) wear a space suit or similar and not pressurize the cabin?

2 Replies

@gollum,

He's not up there alone – the crew would need a pressurized cabin. Plus there has to be a provision for the projectile to exit the plane without damaging the aircraft's skin so that they can maintain pressure in the cabin. Believe me, they thought this through and chose the most efficient method.

1 Reply

@hightor,

hightor-

OK, you may be correct.

I thought two people could fly an unpressurized plane (e.g., maybe 707 or other). The pilot would fly the plane. The other person could open a window enough to shoot out of it.

The plane could fly at 35,000 feet (or 45,000? 55,000? or more?).

1 Reply

@gollum,

A 707 is pressurized . All aircraft flying above about 20,000 feet are pressurized.
Joe(Mountain Climbers need oxygen at 10,000 feet.)Nation

1 Reply

@Frank Apisa,

Because there has been such interest in this situation we may actually be told a few things about what the Navy and the CIA find.
They may tell us bullshit.

My favorite salvage story of all time is the GOLMAR EXPLORER. Anybody remember that?
The Soviet had a submarine sink in the Pacific and try at they might, they couldn't find the thing.
Enter the Navy and the US Air Force. Their listening devices pinpointed the subs location. Now came the hard part. The US with the help of Howard Hughes built the Golmar. A huge ship with a giant grasping claw. The US was able to salvage 300 feet of that submarine.

It took six years to build but the nuclear secrets of the Soviet Union were on board.
When the story came out later the US said they had learned little from the salvaged parts and the weapons retrieved,

Joe(That was the bullshit part back then)Nation

1 Reply

@joe 2nation,

joe 2nation wrote:

Because there has been such interest in this situation we may actually be told a few things about what the Navy and the CIA find.
They may tell us bullshit.

My favorite salvage story of all time is the GOLMAR EXPLORER. Anybody remember that?
The Soviet had a submarine sink in the Pacific and try at they might, they couldn't find the thing.
Enter the Navy and the US Air Force. Their listening devices pinpointed the subs location. Now came the hard part. The US with the help of Howard Hughes built the Golmar. A huge ship with a giant grasping claw. The US was able to salvage 300 feet of that submarine.

It took six years to build but the nuclear secrets of the Soviet Union were on board.
When the story came out later the US said they had learned little from the salvaged parts and the weapons retrieved,

Joe(That was the bullshit part back then)Nation

Gadzooks!

A government agency...especially the CIA...lying to us.

Actually telling us things that are not true.

Will the hits never stop coming?

(It is so good to see ya here, J.)

1 Reply

@gollum,

gollum wrote:

We could shoot it from a 747 or another airplane.

This isn't you "trying to learn" at all.

It's you saying what should be done from a position of ignorance.

Like I said, that's typical of you.

0 Replies

@joe 2nation,

joe2nation-
I realize that normally a 707 is pressurized. That is why I
stated that, in this case, I would fly it unpressurized. Would
the air pressure from outside crush the hull? I don't think
there is much air pressure up there. The space suit I spoke of
would include oxygen.

2 Replies

@gollum,

I never knew you could fly a 707.

1 Reply

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