Red balloon over Montana

[G-CPTN]

Gone!

[TheGreenAnger]

Now an ex balloon...

The New York Times
@nytimes
Breaking News: The U.S. has shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, ending a dramatic saga that inflamed tensions between the world’s two great powers.

[TheGreenAnger]

[G-CPTN]

Pffft!

[PHXPhlyer]

Does the Air Force have a stencil of a balloon or will someone have to draw one on his plane freehand?

PP

[TheGreenAnger]

I was interested to read this Scientific American article on the supposed "manoeuvrability' of the balloon.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... erability/

[Boac]

It looks as if there is a reasonable chance the US can recover at least some of the balloon equipment which is said to be spread over a large area but in shallow sea.

[OFSO]

I'm amazed that the Authorities publicised this event. The US should have kept quiet about the presence of the balloon(s), shot them down, and kept quiet about that too. I suppose Biden made a fuss about it, to prove he can still make decisions.

[TheGreenAnger]

I'm amazed that the Authorities publicised this event. The US should have kept quiet about the presence of the balloon(s), shot them down, and kept quiet about that too. I suppose Biden made a fuss about it, to prove he can still make decisions.

I would suggest that the balloon publicized itself, as it was clearly visible to all who would look up in Montana, and well before that too. There was little space for plausible deniability by the time it had moved inland over Canada as it was visible there too (albeit at a higher altitude). If the US had wanted to hush this up they would have needed to have shot it down over the Aleutian islands and in doing so would have likely lost all the the surveillance equipment and the balloon itself in the deep waters there.

I am surprised they didn't settle its hash over Montana as it not the most populous state and there would have been ample opportunities to down it there without risking anybody below.

[TheGreenAnger]

Soundtrack of the downing of the balloon...

[TheGreenAnger]

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/04/poli ... index.html

(listen to the missile explode here)....

Arsenal! She is an arse and all...

There is another video taken by some whooping South Carolina redneck yokels saying things like "that there's my air force Rastus!" and getting all hot in their Stars and Stripes underpants!




Ok, so he didn't say Rastus, but "right there buddy!" in fact I bet his buddy's name isn't Rastus (that being a negro name and all, am allowed to say that?) and more likely something like Tucker, Bo or even Waylon!

What is it about the whooping Americans, not nearly as nice as the whooping cough or even the whooping crane!

Edited - to say I am only joking, lest some of our esteemed non whooping US friends here take me too seriously. All these comments coming from a South African after all (think pot, kettle, black).

[TheGreenAnger]

Does the Air Force have a stencil of a balloon or will someone have to draw one on his plane freehand?

PP

I guess the pilot's given flying name will now be something like "Peking" Or even "Duck"...

In World War 1, the aces counted balloons as part of their tally of kills. Being an observer in a observation balloon back then must have been a kind of suicide mission for the balloon crews although attacking them was very dangerous for fixed wing attackers too!

[OFSO]

Billy-Bob, I believe. Whooping seems contagious, it's spread to UK. Not in Catalunia. Nor France.

Question: why blow the thing to pieces with a Sidewinder? Punctures from a cannon would have allowed the thing to descend slowly.

[TheGreenAnger]

Question: why blow the thing to pieces with a Sidewinder? Punctures from a cannon would have allowed the thing to descend slowly.

Interesting point as the F-22 does have the M61A2 20mm Gatling gun.

Maybe there was concern that the slow descent option may have allowed the balloon to drift into international waters?

[Boac]

Punctures from a cannon would have allowed the thing to descend slowly.

To get a Gatling gun (roughly 100 rounds a second) to fire just a few rounds with high accuracy is a task I don't think can be done. Just the merest 'squeeze' on the trigger will lose off a lot of metal, thereby probably causing as much damage as a Sidewinder. Add to that the difficulty of manoeuvring to aim properly at that altitude makes it impossible in the 'geographic' time available. Much easier to lock onto the dangly bit of metal and pop off an SW.

Of course, if they could have put Lord Flashheart up in an FE2, the 'observer' could have easily fired his pistol into the balloon.

[TheGreenAnger]

Punctures from a cannon would have allowed the thing to descend slowly.

To get a Gatling gun (roughly 100 rounds a second) to fire just a few rounds with high accuracy is a task I don't think can be done. Just the merest 'squeeze' on the trigger will lose off a lot of metal, thereby probably causing as much damage as a Sidewinder. Add to that the difficulty of manoeuvring to aim properly at that altitude makes it impossible in the 'geographic' time available. Much easier to lock onto the dangly bit of metal and pop off an SW.

Of course, if they could have put Lord Flashheart up in an FE2, the 'observer' could have easily fired his pistol into the balloon.

+1

Your point is well made, not least because of the very limited number of rounds held by the F-22, one short burst, albeit very destructive if accurate, would have increased the likelihood of a miss and the balloon crossing into international airspace.

I was worried that you might mention the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps thus adding to the 3 degree glide path towards political incorrectness (started by me I acknowledge) on this thread.

[k3k3]

Where the Chinese got their inspiration:
https://scontent-lcy1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=63E55C95

[PHXPhlyer]

PP

[llondel]

Of course, there's always this one, but it may be uncertain which side it was on.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c5764be3 ... r=1&s=none

[PHXPhlyer]

Whomever the F22 pilot is that shot down "The Big Red Balloon", he has a way to go before he catches up with Frank Luke, Jr.

Between September 12 and 29, Luke was credited with shooting down 14 German balloons and four airplanes:[5] Luke achieved these 18 victories during just 10 sorties in eight days, a feat unsurpassed by any pilot in World War I.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Luke

Just 13 balloons and 4 planes to go.

PP