Large Chinese reconnaissance balloon spotted over the US, officials say - ABC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A massive spy balloon believed to be from China was seen above Montana and is being tracked as it flies across the continental United States, with President Joe Biden for now deciding against "military options" because of the risk to civilians, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Still, officials insisted, they continue to closely monitor the vessel as they have since it entered the country -- while voicing their concern to the Chinese.
"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is flying over the continental United States right now," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement on Thursday.
"NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] continues to track and monitor it closely," Ryder said. NORAD later said in a statement that its commander, Gen. Glen VanHerck, "assesses the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time. The balloon is currently traveling at altitude well above commercial air traffic."
The high-altitude reconnaissance balloon was not the first such craft to pass over the U.S. in this way, a senior defense official said in a briefing.
A separate senior official told ABC News the balloon is the size of three buses and complete with a technology bay, which the defense official said they "wouldn't characterize" as "revolutionary."
The defense official said they "are confident" the balloon was sent by China.
"Instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration," the official said, noting that "it's happened a handful of other times over the past few years ... It is appearing to hang out for a longer period of time this time around."
One outside expert predicted the balloon could be essentially scientific and set off course, though other sources said it appeared to be "purposeful."
Retired Col. Steve Ganyard, an ABC News contributor, said the balloon looked to be a standard research vessel -- which would mean it was unpowered and drifted with the jet stream.
A senior U.S. official, however, told ABC that the military balloon was specially designed, with a purposeful path. They believe the balloon can take high-resolution pictures and is flying along areas where there are missiles and bases.
Echoing that, the defense official told reporters: "I'm not trying to be a wise guy, but the goal was surveillance and clearly they're trying to fly this balloon over sensitive sites ... to collect information."
In this screen grab of a video posted to social media, jet streams from fighter jets are shown over Reed Point, Montana, on Feb. 1, 2023.@montanawoodburner/TikTok
The defense official said the U.S. had used "multiple channels" to tell China how seriously they are taking this incident. "We have made clear we will do whatever is necessary to protect our people and our homeland," said the official, who added that if the risk does increase then "we will have options to deal with this balloon."
Biden was briefed about the balloon and "asked for military options," the defense official said. The president agreed with the recommendation of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, and U.S. Northern Command Gen. Glen D. VanHerck to not "take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field."
A senior administration official echoed that view and said in a statement, "We acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information."
A U.S. official said Thursday night that the U.S. is closely monitoring the situation with the balloon and "keeping all options open."
The balloon was seen over Montana on Wednesday and military aircraft spotted in the sky above Billings were U.S. Air Force F-22s, according to a U.S. official.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that there was a ground stop in Billings on Wednesday but an agency spokesperson did not share more details.
The senior defense official said the presence of the F-22s and the FAA's ground stop were put in place in case the decision was made to shoot down the balloon.
"We didn't take the shot, but that's why you saw the reports that you saw," the official said.
Why not shoot? reporters asked. "The first question is, does it pose a threat?" the official said. "Our assessment is it does not," they said.
"We have been tracking it for some time. And we have had custody of it the entire time. It's been over U.S. airspace, entered the continental United States' airspace, a couple days ago," the official said.
"Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective," the official said. "But we are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information."
The official wouldn't say where the balloon is now. But they said it is not posing a risk to civilian aviation because it's at such a high altitude -- "significantly above where civilian air traffic is active."
In this screen grab from a video, a balloon is shown floating over Billings, Montana, on Feb. 1, 2023.Chase Doak
Military expert's view
Ganyard predicted the balloon was an experiment gone awry.
Such balloons are not controlled after their release and while they are normally equipped with mechanisms to deflate over an open area, the mechanisms can fail, Ganyard said. So it's possible the balloon would have drifted over from China after multiple days, rather than being nefariously deployed.
China intentionally deploying a reconnaissance balloon over the U.S. would be highly provocative, with little value, Ganyard said, noting that Chinese satellites are able to collect information in a similar manner.
Regardless, the senior defense official said on Thursday that "we know exactly where this balloon is, exactly what it is passing over, and we are taking steps to be extra vigilant so that we can mitigate any foreign intelligence risk."
Lawmakers react
Members of Congress on Thursday pushed for more answers.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy requested a "Gang of Eight" briefing on the Chinese balloon, and a U.S. official told ABC News that their staff was briefed Thursday afternoon and that they've offered additional briefings.
"We briefed Gang of Eight staff in the afternoon to get this information to Congress expeditiously and offered additional briefings," the official said.
The so-called "Gang of Eight" includes the top House and Senate leaders, as well as the heads of the intelligence committees in each chamber.
McCarthy tweeted: "China's brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent. I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing."
"The Department of Defense owes Congress and the American people a full and accurate accounting of why U.S. forces did not take proactive measures to address this Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement. Wicker argued that "information strongly suggests the Department failed to act with urgency."
Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines requested a security briefing from the Biden administration. In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Daines called it "imperative" that the government affirm the American people's safety and security.
A spokesperson for Montana's Democratic senator, Jon Tester, said he was "monitoring this situation closely and will continue to receive updates from DOD."
Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke tweeted to "shoot it down."
"The Chinese spy balloon is clear provocation. In Montana we do not bow. We shoot it down," he wrote. "Take the shot."
The state's other top Republican representative, Matt Rosendale, wrote: "It's unacceptable to allow communist China to invade our airspace -- this is another clear example of Chinese aggression. President Biden must start putting the American people first and recognize that China is a threat to our freedom, values and way of life."
The top Republican and Democrat on the House's select committee on China also shared their outrage, saying in a statement that the balloon represented a "violation of American sovereignty."
"This incident demonstrates that the CCP threat is not confined to distant shores—it is here at home and we must act to counter this threat," Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said.
ABC News' Amanda Maile, Jay O'Brien, MaryAlice Parks, Allison Pecorin, Trish Turner and Justin Ryan Gomez contributed to this report.
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Wtf? A balloon? And it couldn't be harassed in any way at least?
How does the military know this is a Chinese surveillance balloon? The grainy photo appears to show an antenna array and not a surveillance package. There are other possible explanations.
The Chinese government just admitted that it is their's and that it is a weather balloon:
"Beijing confirmed on Friday that a high-altitude balloon traveling over the northern U.S. is Chinese and said its entry into American airspace was unintentional.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the balloon is a civilian airship used primarily for meteorological research."
Thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that. The military mindset doesn't inspire confidence so independent confirmation is always wise.
We don’t believe our own government when they say “it’s just a weather balloon.” Now we’re supposed to believe the Chinese government?
Joe Biden is giving us little choice.
The message is clear: If the US won't take down a spy balloon over the most sensitive area in the US, the US won't lift a finger to defend Taiwan.
You’d think we could fly something up there and get a hook around it. Or disable it so it falls some place safe. It’s not like it’s hard to find some “wide open spaces” in Montana.
Perhaps the rainbow camo on our fighters allowed them to evade...
What if this balloon had been carrying emp's?.......
I thought this should have been posted as satire, I can't believe the paranoia in the USA from something like a weather balloon gone astray. Is everyone so demented as to think that China would be stupid enough to send such an obvious thing purposely over the USA, especially when China is probably capable of doing much more accurate and controlled surveillance from its satellites? Maybe the lettering on the balloon says "Happy New Year".
Just noticed that this seed was posted two hours after Bob Nelson already posted a seed about it. Boy, this must be one sensational story, eh?
I just looked for Bobs, he posted it in his group , not everyone desires to join his group to comment , so duplication to the open forum where anyone can comment seems ok to me .
I actually had to go look for the group posting , where as this one is on the front page .
But Mark, it's on the Front Page. Are only people in his group able to see it? No big deal.
You sure it is a weather balloon Buzz? Is that what the CCP is saying?
If it was a US weather "balloon" that had managed to enter Chinese air space you don't think the CCP wouldn't be freaking out? Especially if it just happened to meander over military nuclear and air installations that have no fly zones all around them?
If it is just a weather balloon why didn't the CCP warn the US so it could be brought down before entering US air space. I am sure the CCP would want to avoid an international incident if it is really just a weather balloon.
No matter which side this occurred on military heads are going to roll. How does something the size of several buses manage to enter a country as advanced as the US? Multiple people dropped the ball on this. It should have been detected over the ocean and brought down before it even got close to land.
Given the tension that exists that exist between the two countries- no way in hell is this going to be allowed to slide. At the very least it will take several politically heart felt mea cuplas from the Chinese.
Maybe it is a weather balloon and maybe it isn't. Who knows? Did I not suggest taht this whle thing is satire? I don't know what it is and neither do you. Maybe it's actually a UFO (I just saw that Independence Day was being shown on TV here, and Jeff Goldblum isn't around to come up wtih a solution. What I do think is that China could not possibly be so stupid as to purposely send such an obvious device, and of course if they knew it was going to traverse American air space for sure they would have sent a warning about it. Why would China want to start a war with such a big customer? It isn't suicidal.
Obviously there is no war. Supposedly the US military does not want to shoot it down. Too much debris, don't ya know!
The real question is what does the Chinese government have to be afraid of?
Really look at that thing, it has a huge solar array, way more than what would be needed just to record weather. We've recovered weather balloons before on our property and nothing that massive they could all be sent back through the post office.
what does the Chinese government have to be afraid of?
Apparently not Biden.
That may have been the point of the exercise. The CCP may just be asking "what are you going to do about it?"
To Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder:
If shooting it down would cause debris that might kill civilians, why not shoot it down when it leaves and is over the Pacific Ocean?
I'm sure the CCP is grinning, because they know that all kinds of things could happen. Maybe some rogue Chinese Colonel might just release another new virus?
Actually it is a giant condom with the chinese writing "去你的" or "Qù nǐ de"
Translation: "Screw You"
And with a grin!
Regardless, the senior defense official said on Thursday that "we know exactly where this balloon is, exactly what it is passing over, and we are taking steps to be extra vigilant so that we can mitigate any foreign intelligence risk."
Looking at that "weather balloon", what is attached to it looks almost like a satellite. Satellites in space we know where they are and track them and we can "mitigate any foreign intelligence risk" as they pass over, this one, however, has us hiding our intelligence risks all the while it is in view of them basically shutting us down and we won't shoot it down while civilians are at risk, whereas we have the capability to destroy satellites in space and the debris would just burn up on reentry. If roles were reversed, China would shoot it down civilians be damned.
So what China has now learned, even if it was an accident, we won't do a thing about it and hide until it is gone.
I'm sure they suspected that going in and they are delighted that Biden is now the president.
Interesting question, and I have no idea what it could be afraid of. My opinion is that China will not use force to exert its claims over anywhere except where it has ancient or historical rights as indicated on ancient maps, and I don't think ever has used or intends to use force elsewhere. That means it feels it has the rights over Taiwan, the South China sea to the limits they have indicated, certain islands that it is in conflict with Japan about, and the border they've drawn with India. However, I don't think it will go so far as to actually do something to provoke a war, so I don't think it will invade Taiwan but will apply other means of pressure to bring the island into the fold. As far as anywhere else they have been using different but peaceful methods to build influence around the world, such as with the Belt and Road Initiative, using positive diplomacy and building relationships.
Look, think of the line from a Bob Dylan song (I think it's Positively 4th Street) "If you ain't got nothin' you got nothin' to lose." But China is doing really well, and it has a LOT to lose, so it isn't going to gamble with that.
Let me ask YOU a "real" question: Why is America so afraid of China?
We're not of China in any way. But their actions show their intentions are not in our best interests, or the interests of other nations in that region.
So, we're wary of them. You know, the old....trust, but verify
America's "best interests" may be considered by other nations as quite selfish, self-serving and arrogant, and not shared by the rest of the world.
Yep, much like China's best interests....
At least China doesn't demand that other nations emulate it, in some cases "or else" like Cuba.
Ask North Korea about that.
Strange thing Buzz, that's exactly what Adolph Hitler said about the Sudetenland in 1938. A lot of expats from England, Canada and even the US thought that it was just fine and that a dictatorship was good because it kept the people in line. Why, they even made the trains run on time. Imagine their surprise in September of 1939 when the end result came to pass.
So you're comparing me to Hitler, which is tantamount to calling me a Nazi. Other nations that colonized, beating down the indigenous peoples, like the Americans did to the Native Americans, are better than that, eh?
No Buzz, I'm not comparing you to Hitler. I'm comparing the Premier of China to Hitler, and the difference between a Communist and a Nazi isn't that great. They are both absolute dictatorships and dictatorships are evil by their very nature.
Your case is analogous to the expats who lived in Germany and Italy and simply didn't understand the system under which they lived, mostly because the Gestapo wasn't going to come after them to put them into Buchenwald. The most that would happen to them is that they would be thrown out of the country.
Neither the Jews nor the Uigars are indigenous peoples, they are religious minorities; dissenters who cannot be tolerated by a totalitarian dictatorship.
There is something that has always puzzled me, and perhaps since you know all about how Communist governments operate, please tell me what this means. If the Uyghurs are being dealt with as a religious ethnic group like the Jews were by the Nazis, why have only around 10% of them been detained, and only those who were actual terrorists were imprisoned, whereas the religious extremists and separatists among them were put into re-education institutions? ALL the Jews were earmarked for DEATH. So where is the comparison when 10 million Uyghurs are openly living their lives in China no different than anyone else there?
If the Communist government of China were truly EVIL as you indicate, why is it that every Chinese person I know, every Chinese person I have come into contact with, every Chinese person in my wife's family is quite happy with the government? It seems that your knowledge of the people in China is similar to that of some others on NT in that you think that the Chinese people are oppressed (save for maybe the elites among them). I've been living here for 16 1/2 years and I have become familiar over that time with surely thousands of people here, and not one of them was oppressed. I was quite fascinated, by the way, that the Chinese government lifted the Zero-Covid policy when the Chinese people demonstrated against it. Thanks to those demonstrators I got infected by the Omicron variant and at my age and condition I'm lucky to have survived it, but what is amazing is that the government acquiesced and lifted the policy. Would a real dictatorship have done that?
Of course there are things the Chinese government and its officials have done that have upset me, and over the years I have indicated what some of them were - but then what government is perfect? Is yours? You know damn well it isn't.
"Would a real dictatorship have done that?"
(Duplication - self-deleted)
I don't know who that is addressed to but allow me a few comments:
My opinion is that China will not use force to exert its claims over anywhere except where it has ancient or historical rights as indicated on ancient maps
That is exactly the same claim that Putin has made for the Ukraine.
As far as anywhere else they have been using different but peaceful methods to build influence around the world, such as with the Belt and Road Initiative, using positive diplomacy and building relationships.
They seek world domination.
Look, think of the line from a Bob Dylan song (I think it's Positively 4th Street) "If you ain't got nothin' you got nothin' to lose."
I used to think of Dylan when I hit the speed bag. That was a long time ago.
Why is America so afraid of China?
The CCP is America's mortal enemy and it has nuclear weapons.
Damn it all, it seems that every time I reply to the last comment on a page I forget to make it a reply and just post it. I'll fix that.
Maybe so, but that doesn't mean that China will do what Putin did.
Your opinion, and maybe that of others, but I think China would rather have cooperative relationships with other nations.
Does that mean you don't agree wtih anything he's written? I guess the Nobel committee had a better opinion of him than you do.
Ignorance begets fear, and fear begets hatred. Words matter - in their conversations, Xi has used the word "cooperation" while Biden uses the word "competition" but really means "confrontation".
I'm turning off my computer now. It's after 11 p.m. and I'm still in recovery from the Omicron virus variant.
Have a good night Buzz
Biden White House trying to get a Republican elected president by letting the Chinese do as they please in our air space.
Maybe some patriotic rancher will go out there and send a few bullets at that thing.
Being tongue in cheek here but seriously, what are they going to get that one cannot get on google maps...
You think Google Maps can get detailed imagery of nuclear military installations in the US? That includes thermal, etc?
We can get detailed pics of most places around the world. Do you think we are the only country that can do that?
I’m guessing Google gets permission to fly over sensitive areas and we know when they’re over sensitive installations. I would also hope that either we don’t have secrets exposed when pictures are taken, or the government gets a chance to redact them from images that get used on the internet.
If none of that is true, we have bigger problems than a single balloon.
Exactly. When existing spy satellites that I'm sure both America and China use can read a newspaper on the ground, what the hell do you need a balloon for? That's why the hysterical paranoia from both Canada and America over this is nothing more IMO than just more political demonizing of China.
See @12
Exactly. Just like complaining about genocide is just more political demonizing of China.
How dare anyone complain about breaches of international law, state sovereignty etc. Anything the CCP does is perfect and just.
I DON'T agree that the CPC is absolutely perfect and just, but I think it's doing what it can to benefit the people in China. As for your accusation of genocide, fits the mold perfectly using whatever one can that hasn't been proven to demonize China. One thing, though, is that there doesn't seem to be domestic terrorism in China since there were arrests and imprisonment of terrorists. Speaking of limiting people's human rights, seems there are no complaints about how limited the human rights are of all those killed, wounded and their lives ruined by gun violence in some places, eh? Of course that's something that HAS BEEN proven, I read about it more every day in the American news web sites.
Your question makes me think of the question "How fast were you speeding when you hit Mr. X's car?" It contains an assumption, doesn't it? Your assumption is that it was sent, and the winds had nothing to do with it.
Now you are justifying throwing millions of people into concentration camps because there "doesn't seem to be" domestic terrorism. aren't you supposed to be a lawyer? I thought Canada recognized individual rights and the principle that one doesn't get punished for the crimes of others.
e of all those killed, wounded and their lives ruined by gun violence in some places, eh
Yeah, the CCP gunned down thousands of peaceful protestors in Tiananmen Square and power washed their remains into the sewers. Shocking stuff.
read about it more every day in the American news web sites.
Lol.. Are you talking about crime in America? I can't believe you are conflating the State throwing millions of people into concentration camps with citizens in America engaging in criminal behavior. You understand the vast difference between the genocidal actions of a government and the individual actions of private citizens, right?
LOL. Millions imprisoned? History? Boy, you're comments are so full of exaggerations and long ago history I can't possibly counter them. Time does change things, though, doesn't it? Do you still despise the Japanese government because they attacked Pearl Harbour? I used to really love and respect the USA, now I wouldn't step foot in it. The China I'm living in is not one that you think still exists, but then I know that because I'm here, AND YOU'RE NOT.
We should shoot it down, oh wait this is what happened the last time it was tried to shoot down a balloon.
When a weather balloon went rogue almost 25 years ago, fighter jets fired 1,000 rounds at it and couldn't bring it down
Depends on where they shoot it, since its helium you need to hit it in the top, otherwise anywhere lower you still won't cause the helium to escape, this is why hot air balloons have the vents in the top to control altitude.
Perhaps we don’t shoot it down to capture it intact.
Meanwhile, it continues to spy . . and probably transmit data back home.
maybe the data its meant to collect is the reaction to its presence , both by the public , and the government and how each reacts .
If that is the case its been a resounding success of data collection they could make future predictions on possible actions in other events .
LOL. Great opinion.
My "Red Apron " ( i choose a red apron for doing the prep cutting and prep because the meat is still somewhat bloody , dont need to answer a knock at the door looking like dexter at a crime scene ) day has concluded , i have some elk ground up for burgers , im thinking a cheese and mushroom burger and fries for dinner , the snack stix and bologna meat is ground spiced cured and setting so that it sets and permeates the mix , tomorrow is stuff casings and cook .
right now its adult beverage of my choice time , and sit back and watch the circus .....
I think that one of the things I would really have liked to do would have been to be able to eat some of what you have cooked.
I've already been getting a lot of chuckles out of the circus caused by a balloon.
my version of the snack stix cooking , i will cut them down to about 4 inch lengths when done and cooled down , they have to get to 165 f internal to be considered done .
The Chinese hang their home-made sausage outside to cure. My wife gets some every Chinese New Year from her home village in Chongqing, and it's a little spicy. We slice into thin wafers to eat - and it's delicious.
least it wont be another Hindenburg...... could be shades of roswell circa 47 ....
just recommission a single SR-71 and have it do a max high speed flaps down fly by, the sonic boom should really mess with the sensors in the equipment no matter what they are .
Thats a thought , maybe they are looking for top gun mavericks "darkstar"
Still? Unfuckingbelievable.....
This isn't just a balloon, this is a long slow teabag of America. Pathetic...
Is that what you call this?
No, like @1.2 I would call that trolling.
High-altitude balloons, such as the one China has floated over mountain state military bases this week, are considered a key “delivery platform” for secret nuclear strikes on America’s electric grid, according to intelligence officials.
Spy balloons, used by Japan to drop bombs during World War II, are now far more sophisticated, can fly at up to 200,000 feet, evade detection, and can carry a small nuclear bomb that, if exploded in the atmosphere, would shut down the grid and wipe out electronics in a many-state-wide area.
So, there’s now a second “Chinese weather balloon” floating over Latin America . I suppose that’s another accident.
OMG, there's a third one...
Yeah, I heard that too. Somewhere around Hawaii. Don't think it looks like that....
It’s embarrassing the way you apologize for, and excuse the behavior and absurd lies of the Chinese government.
It's expected by now.
I'd like someone to tell me how it's possible to navigate a balloon with no visible propulsion system that was already over Canada for a few days to SPECIFICALLY fly over a particular target thousands of miles away, otherwise I'm simply going to stick with my opinion that the real problem here is the hysterical paranoia of the Americans.
So even the Chinese admit that it has limited self-control ability.
Also, what are the chances of the balloon just meandering over US nuclear sites?
It is all just one big happy coincidence for the Chinese.
Now that a second Chinese balloon has been spotted entering Latin American you can throw coincidence out the window. Along with the Chinese claim they respect other countries borders and air space.
China is testing the resilience of the rest of the world. Not to mention countries air defense systems. The US right now is doing a hell of a lot of internal inspection. Next balloon, and there will be a next one as Brandon has screwed the pooch on this one, had better be downed well before it enters US air space over the ocean.
LOL. If so, it's done a great job of inciting hysteria and enticing politicians to jump over each other in pursuit of political points.
I posted to someone else , maybe the data it was collecting was reactions , both governmental and civilian populus , if thats the case , it was a resounding success.
I'll say it was - especially if the reaction on this site was a microcosm of the whole.
What do you think the solar arrays are for? Maybe to operate onboard motors for propulsion and navigation.
A weather balloon just needs a battery, this thing is built to travel thousands of miles or even circumnavigate the earth.
Maybe it was intended that it would remain aloft a lot longer than a battery could last.
I didn't see any propulsion equipment on it, did you?
"Maybe it was intended that it would remain aloft a lot longer than a battery could last"
Yes, using solar panels that would be a given.
As for any propulsion, I never seen a clear enough picture yet, but the number of panels would suggest the need for a large power draw day and night.
Thats where you would have to trust the guys doing the math and engineering .
how does a space craft move left or right ? those thrusters are not exactly visible unless one knows what to look for.
with a balloon , the up down is dependent on the lift capabilities of whatever is used to get it up , for a left /right movement thrusters could be incorporated into the payload to adjust for such movement , i do believe its speculated it has limited maneuverability , not that it actually has .
What's the saying ? an object in motion tends to stay in motion , that is until something impedes that motion .
I'm not an engineer or even a math whizz , but i know what happens if you release something in a container thats under pressure and there is nothing holding it down.
that's for those guys to figure out .
think of the old kids toy rocket , fill it with water , put it on a air pump , pressurize it , and then unlock it , same principle .
( Iask for forgiveness , today is a "red apron " prep day , getting ready to make some snack sticks ( slim jim knock offs ) and some more bologna , as well as some ground burger , so i will be in and out .)
Have a fun day, Mark. Today is Lantern Festival here, marking the end of the New Year Spring Festival. I love the festivals, especially for the array of different delicious foods during them.
Rigghhht! Because if a giant spy balloon was drifting over China, the PRC wouldn’t lose their effing minds.
Considering that this is possibly the second incident on Biden's watch
and that there were at least three acknowledged during the Trump years,
WTF is the uproar for?
That this was got stuck and hundreds of people got pics of it this time?
As far as the PRC losing their minds over spying, that's funny. The whole Chinese satellite system was designed to spy on the US and the American satellites spying on China.
We ban the import of certain chips and certain phones for fear of Chinese spying.
America and spying is like Mom and apple pie. We do it to our friends and enemies alike.
Some, like Israel return the favor.
What's your argument here?
That we should ignore it?
That we should have reacted stronger in the past? Sorry, but we can't roll back time. We can only do better going forward. And you haven't detailed how we reacted in the past, anyway, so there's nothing to compare it to.
And every minute of every day, we know exactly where a satellite is. Its path is predictable.
Yeah. Good, right?
(duplicate comment self-deleted)
And I forgot to add to my last sentence "and the need to rack up personal political points." For example, I see Blinkin's cancellation of his trip to China nothing more that political play-acting. In a situation like this I would think it is more important than play-acting that he DOES go.
You expect China to be rewarded after this?
If China really gave a shit they would have warned the US about the balloon before it entered US airspace. Instead of "Ooops that is one of ours. It is where? Sorry, we have no idea how it ever got there. Must have been the wind." China knew where the balloon was every damn second.
My only problem with Blinken canceling the trip, is the response didn't come from Brandon himself. The president should have been the one making the public address; and it should have been a hell of a lot more forceful rebuke of China than Blinken's political word salad.
Blinken coming to China is considered a reward?
Yes Buzz; the US engaging talks with China after all of the BS China has pulled was a reward.
You don't reward a spoiled brat when it acts up.
For damned good reasons I wouldn't be giving any awards to the USA either.
Darn, the folks we spy on are spying on us and our spying on them has gone from 5 Eyes to 9 Eyes to 14 Eyes. Myopic chagrin disorder syndrome and the guys and gals who sell it press the Staples button ...
And for those who think that America doesn't spy on China, they should do a little research on how many American spies have been caught spying in China. What's good for the goose.....eh?
Damn, way to defend Brandon the Human Fuck Up Machine and China at the same time!
They violated our air space. We have every damn right to be pissed. They get pissed if we even get close to theirs.
Oh and how does the CCP react to the US downing their spy balloon while it is still in our territory (after Brandon allowed it to gather all of the information it wanted).
The CCP and Brandon can both fuck off. Maybe the CCP will buy some more of Hunter's butt ugly art for 75,000 a pop to pay the Big Guy off.
Finally! What a weak feckless pos....
Awwww ... I was hoping for at least 3 more days of fear, conspiracy nonsense and Baleful (B)random Bashing. Darn you Joe ...
There's still almost two years left for Joe to continue fucking up the country. I'm sure that with that much time you'll get plenty of whatever it is you feed off of...
Your country is doing better than you project Debbie D.
If you consider high gas prices, inflation, crime rates, a wide open southern border with record setting numbers of illegals, drugs, and firearms crossing into this country good?
Also if you consider an economy shedding high paying tech jobs for "Do you want fries with that" ones a good thing.
Some people will believe anything to defend the Human Fuck Up Machine and Democrats.
Just finished reading that Slow Joe ordered that Chinese spy satellite blown out of the sky. Only problem is that the Air Force shot it down over the Atlantic Ocean. Typical day late and a dollar short for Biden and his minions.The thing never should have made it past the Pacific coast! Xi and the CCP reaped a gold mine out of this one. They are probably laughing their heads off and are amazed they got as far as they did!
Or they are laughing their collective head over how easy it is to freak-out the fringe. I'm sure they lurv your post.
Why do you call Biden and Blinken part of the fringe?
Of all the folks on this site, you can read better than that ... or are you 'pretending' to be illiterate?
Your comment is not even worth a further response to...
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That's called following orders, as you very well know.
I agree, but then it would be Canada 's fault and the NAAS since it crossed into Montanna from Canada.
Pure conjecture. Why in the age of drones and spy satellites would anyone revert to an unmanned balloon for data collection?
maybe so. Maybe they will be laughing even harder when it turns out to just be a weather balloon like
the National Weather Service launches daily.
So now progressives believe the CCP over our own intelligence services and the Biden Admin.
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I am fully aware of the pilots following orders. It is the timing of said orders that bothers me.
As I said, it should have been brought down prior to entering North American airspace whether by Canada or the US.
As to Xi and his minions reaping a gold mine of sensitive intelligence? Yes, it could be conjecture on our part, but by the same token it could be conjecture to believe it is simply a plain weather balloon. That being the case, why did it take China so long to come out and say it was just a weather balloon.
Either way, since the equipment package now lies on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, there is next to no way we will ever know for sure anyway.
in 47 feet of water?
Did you hear the one where they recovered an intact F-35 from 12,000 feet of water in the South China Sea?
I think we have this covered.
I went no where near my antelope , deer and elk hunting grounds , they didn't get anything from me that's important to me ........
I only found out about the depth after I commented. Besides, any info on the gear will be classified anyway.
What you WON'T be told is if it's nothing but a simple weather balloon - because that would be contrary to the political intent. That's why I thought an international inspection team should be used.
What will you be told by the CCP if the Biden administration is not lying and it is a surveillance balloon?
well i think it is more likely they will say it IS a weather balloon , to say otherwise will open a pretty big box of "oh shit ".
if they came out and said it was otherwise , can you imagine the effect it would have on asian americans , chinese in particular , most would look at something like this as an act of war ( cooler heads will prevail of course ) but by the time things calm down , the damage will already have been done .
one simply has to look at how asians were treated during covid ., imagine that on steroids after drinking Dr Jeckles formula.
Thats the story i think they will tell the public , if its something else the government will find some other way to extract the appropriate response deemed necessary keeping whatever it is to themselves .
I do hope you get your little laugh at it being announced it was a weather balloon , its safer for all involved that way .
Seems to me that neither China nor Biden react in knee-jerk fashion.
Why don't you ask me a question that can be answered? Can you answer what will America be told if it turns our to be just a weather balloon, and make all your institutions and politicians who said it was a spy satellite appear to be hysterical paranoid fools? That is why I thought it should be inspected by an international group.
hy don't you ask me a question that can be answered
Oh. You can predict what the American government will do without a problem, but when it comes to asking you to predict what the CCP will do, it's unanswerable.
I tend to agree with you on this, that it should've been inspected by many different bodies, but the way it was brought down only the military and our government will have the chance and control of the inspection and what is allowed to be released to the public. The reason it wasn't brought down over land may not have been the safety of civilians, but instead to insure no civilians were able to reach it first destroying any chance of the government to spin whatever was found.
If you find that to be hysterically paranoid, that is my right as a citizen of the US.
Your reason for not shooting it down over land, in addition to the risk of anyone being hurt and the distribution of pieces over a huge area makes very good sense to me, because there is no doubt in my mind that when it is inspected we will be told what the American government decides is in its best interest to be told.
Because they know a dumb ass like the Human Fuck Up Machine will never shoot it down over land; and they were proven right. Wonder how many of Hunter's butt ugly paintings that the CCP will have to buy to pay the Big Guy off this time?
So expect even more spy balloons from the Chinese. Unfortunately we have Brandon the Human Fuck Up Machine in office. He is the very definition of an embarrassment and corruption.
Canada's fault? Forgetting that it passed over Alaska?
Brandon could have shot it down in the Pacific before it crossed into Alaska. Hell, he could have shot it down in Alaska w/o coming close to injuring anyone. He could even have shot it down over Montana, one of the least densely population places in the US. He chose to let it into US air space. Unless the US military failed to detect it that is until it entered into the US mainland; which points to a far larger problem with our air defense system. Which the Chinese will no doubt move to exploit.
Why not? Let's say someone broke a window in your house - what would you do, thank them?
Did the window happen to go trapsing across their entire length of their property taking pictures and gathering data?
I find it curious that they have said it is a private companies equipment and not the chinese governments , even a private company would know to get pre authorization and governmental permits in US air space ,( the FAA handles that ) but yet the chinese government , is saying they will protect a private companies rights ....
that does make me wonder exactly just how privately owned that company is ....
another thing i find interesting is that the air space is under US control all the way to the line of space , yet its claimed that the object wasnt in US air space because it was above commercial flight paths it was in international space , thing.
is the US has authority above that limit for military use .
either way the US had authority and the company or the government has little to stand on since the space was US controlled .
"__ __ ____" You can fill in the blanks yourself.
Thank you for the information.
In a communist country, I don't think there is any such thing as a wholly privately owned company. That would be capitalist. To some extent the CCP partly owns everything in China.
Why does NOAA have weather satellites positioned all over the world and data collecting bouys throughout the oceans and tectonic listening devices all over the ocean floors?
And yes, we use then for scientific research and sometimes gather information useful for the military as well.
Why haven't past POTUSs shot down these weather satellites?
There have been many other instances.
The reaction in China to being called capitalistic is pretty much the same as Americans reacting to the suggestion that the USA is largely as socialistic as the EU.
Chinas leaders have embraced capitalistic behavior and encouraged entrepreneurship
while publicly clinging to some pure communist ideals.
Their success comes from capitalism just as ours has benefitted from social safety nets, and shared risks.
saw this and had to share ........
was also reading that gizmo underneath looks like some sort of radio antenna array , and one experienced with radios said it likely could reach back to china with a single bounce off the ionosphere with as high up as it was ....
either way , its been splashed off the carolinas coast , in 47 ft of water , retrieval wont be hard .
Lol. Good one! 😆
Possible secure real time encrypted data link upload to a Chinese satellite instantly available in Beijing.
so better a so called "soft" water landing , than a really "hard " terrestrial landing .......
Exactly.
I thought it should have said "Happy New Year".
It may have been just a weather balloon that got loose or maybe a test of something else. We do not know
If I lost control of . . . well, anything . . . and it drifted into someone else's property, I would try to retrieve it, contact the owner, ask for it back, etc. I wouldn't keep it a secret until I got caught, unless it was something I was trying to keep hidden.
Last year the Chinese launched four spy satellites so they followed those launches with a hot air balloon. Seems that the CCP is regressing.
No worries though we have it covered so to speak.
That was a point I already made. Since both America and China not only both have agents on the ground and spy satellites that probably will cover the whole world and can read a newspaper at ground level from space and be able to pin-point exact locations that they spy upon, what's the purpose in releasing a Model A Ford to do that job? That's why this whole paranoia just doesn't make sense to me. The most logical explanation I've seen here is that the balloons were released to see what the reaction to them would be, if not just actual weather balloons gone astray.
here is what im thinking Buzz, and it is only my opinion .
US/ chinese relations are rather tense and have been going down hill for some time .
the taiwan issue of course is a big bone of contention for both parties .
in the case of this balloon , balloons are a lot harder to track unless they have some device that allows them to be tracked like a transponder . and they can be made of things pretty much invisible to current tracking methods , unless they have enough of the right material that would show up.
here is where i will step into the realm of the twilight zone , there are such things as the backpack or suitcase nukes small tactical nukes actually , but large enough to create an EMP, and we have seen discussed what an EMP would do . and they wouldnt need a very large almost invisible balloon to be delivered , hell the japanese tried it in WW2 with incendiary bombs
If the tensions are that high , and china is getting ready to invade taiwan , it would make sense to try and find a way to disrupt , things on the US mainland to slow down any thought of response and it could be a window as little as a couple of days , 48 hrs , the power grid would be one of those things that would naturally be targeted .
You can pishposh all you want , but as an old cold war veteran warrior , its something i think is totally plausible and has a better chance of success than a missile strike from the Chinese mainland , that would be detected at launch , or from a sub off the coast , tracking those are not as difficult as one thinks .
as for that 2nd balloon? i have a hunch that its actual destination was southern Ca , the wind currents at the time just didnt cooperate , war planners have for years said that if one wants to take out a good portion of the US nuke the soCal area and let the winds drive the fall out inland ,cajone is a natural wind tunnel during the right time of the year all the way to vegas , couple that with the fact that the major ports are there as well as refineries , and .... well that kinda cripples any US response in the pacific for a while to mainly supplies on hand .
So I can not rule out that these 2 incidents are not dry runs for future actions to see if they would work .
Those proponents of the stray weather balloon explanation seem to not be considering that China knew exactly where their balloon was and could have warned Canada and the US before it crossed into Canada's and our air space instead of waiting until it was over Montana. Fact is that the CCP could have prevented a whole lot of heartburn and deliberately chose not to.
At this point I'm really tired of dealing with the comments here so from now on I'll spend my time somewhere else, but because of the attitude I've encountered from others here because I actually posted my opinion which was what the hell does China need a balloon to gather information when I'm sure they have more than one spy satellite that can read a newspaper on the ground, covering the whole of the USA gathering more and better information than that balloon could possibly get so I really hope that it turns out that it really was a weather balloon with no other purpose that in fact DID go astray and any others are the same. Over and out.
Sorry if you feel your opinion of China and the CCP is the only one that matters. Others are in fact allowed theirs, even if it goes against yours. You have a good day.
That’s actually covered in the seed. The path of satellites is predictable. We know where the satellites are. Rockets are not stealthy. So we know where the satellites are going, and we can prepare for them before they pass overhead. A balloon goes up quietly and can sneak in.
Chinese surveillance technology may not be as advanced as you assume.
If it’s so innocent, then why didn’t China alert us in advance, and either ask us to ignore it or retrieve it for them?
If this was a weather balloon that got a way, China would have shot it down long before it reached the US. No, this was on of many Chinese intelligence-collection balloons launched over the for years. Today, five Chinese balloons have circumnavigated the globe, and China has conducted 20 to 30 balloon missions globally over the last ten years.