A quick google search comparing the size of this balloon to regular weather balloon and a little math found that it could probably carry a payload of about 1,000 pounds. That's enough to carry a hydrogen bomb or an H-bomb to produce an EMP pulse.
China has learned that the US government will allow China to overfly the US with a balloon capable of carrying a weapon of mass destruction.
This is just crazy... if the US actually suspected an H-bomb they would've acted much differently. You really think they wouldn't be able to tell?
China plays the long game. They have a long history of probing to test US reactions. This balloon most likely was a spy vehicle. If you watch the first few seconds of the video of the explosion, you can see the capsule falling away from the balloon and several flashes and puffs of smoke from/around the capsule itself. That was probably small explosives to self-destruct any secret spy devices before we could recover them.
If the purpose was just to spy on the US, they could have done it with a much smaller balloon. They did this to spy AND to see if we would allow such a large balloon to transit the US. We did. And yes, I don't think we can tell if a balloon is carrying an H-bomb just by flying by it with a jet at 400mph.
One thing I haven't heard is how a balloon can be steered. The media said it hovered over Montana for a couple of days. I don't see how that's possible. I also didn't see any visible fans or propellers. Thoughts?
Anyone with any sense at all could tell you this thing can provide very little data to China, like high quality pictures etc… it has no way to transmit large volumes of data back to China … it’s not like they have a massive data link over the US .. they don’t have GEO data coverage over the US and if they did .. US could easily jam the transmission.
One thing I haven't heard is how a balloon can be steered. The media said it hovered over Montana for a couple of days. I don't see how that's possible. I also didn't see any visible fans or propellers. Thoughts?
apparently it could have propellers and a rudder, and can go up or down to take advantage of wind direction, to do some maneuvering.
Wikipedia:
The balloon carries an underslung payload described as a "technology bay" estimated to be the size of "two or three school buses"; it was powered by solar panels mounted on the payload.[a] The envelope of the balloon itself is "much larger", according to a U.S. official cited by CBS News.[7] The same official described the craft as featuring a rudder for limited steering. Years earlier in Japan, a balloon of a cross-type payload bay was reported, adding two propellers mounted on the side of the chassis, possibly for more controllability.[10]
This is just crazy... if the US actually suspected an H-bomb they would've acted much differently. You really think they wouldn't be able to tell?
China plays the long game. They have a long history of probing to test US reactions. This balloon most likely was a spy vehicle. If you watch the first few seconds of the video of the explosion, you can see the capsule falling away from the balloon and several flashes and puffs of smoke from/around the capsule itself. That was probably small explosives to self-destruct any secret spy devices before we could recover them.
If the purpose was just to spy on the US, they could have done it with a much smaller balloon. They did this to spy AND to see if we would allow such a large balloon to transit the US. We did. And yes, I don't think we can tell if a balloon is carrying an H-bomb just by flying by it with a jet at 400mph.
if china wanted to nuke america, it would nuke america and we couldn't do much to stop it. It's not going to nuke america with a completely trackable balloon.
This is just crazy... if the US actually suspected an H-bomb they would've acted much differently. You really think they wouldn't be able to tell?
China plays the long game. They have a long history of probing to test US reactions. This balloon most likely was a spy vehicle. If you watch the first few seconds of the video of the explosion, you can see the capsule falling away from the balloon and several flashes and puffs of smoke from/around the capsule itself. That was probably small explosives to self-destruct any secret spy devices before we could recover them.
If the purpose was just to spy on the US, they could have done it with a much smaller balloon. They did this to spy AND to see if we would allow such a large balloon to transit the US. We did. And yes, I don't think we can tell if a balloon is carrying an H-bomb just by flying by it with a jet at 400mph.
Yeah, they are playing such a "long game" that they are reviving a 1940s technology that turned out to be totally useless. That makes perfect sense.
Fu-Go (ふ号[兵器], fugō [heiki], lit. "Code Fu [Weapon]") was an incendiary balloon weapon (風船爆弾, fūsen bakudan, lit. "balloon bomb") deployed by Japan against the United States during World War II. A hydrogen balloon mea...
A quick google search comparing the size of this balloon to regular weather balloon and a little math found that it could probably carry a payload of about 1,000 pounds. That's enough to carry a hydrogen bomb or an H-bomb to produce an EMP pulse.
China has learned that the US government will allow China to overfly the US with a balloon capable of carrying a weapon of mass destruction.
Imagine actually believing that China is going to float WMDs over on balloons and this was their prep mission.
The amount of expertise on Balloons, Military strategy and weaponry, aerodynamics and espionage in this thread is simply off the charts. I can't believe this web site is free.
I have no doubt both the US and Chinese militaries are consulting this site for further insight.
The WH has reported that Biden has locked himself in the Oval Office for the last several days over fears that John Ritter is going to jump out dressed in a clown suit.
Right wingers will be happy to know that another geopolitical warfare expert: Silk of the infamous but now severed Diamond and Silk duo also agrees that the Balloon was a bioweapons delivery system.
you ah know there are spy satellites over your head at all times, right? I mean that's a part of your knowledge as a human being in the year 2023? Or no? No?
Satellites are at least 10x higher and have to travel fast to orbit the earth every 90 minutes (unless they're in geosynchronous orbit in which case there 300x higher) so it's not unthinkable they would gain something from a balloon that they couldn't get via satellites. I mean do you think it was actually just a weather balloon?
If you make the orbit more elliptical you can get the satellite to dip down at strategic locations yielding more detailed photos.
The known limit of spy satellites is 5cm, experts believe it's really 1cm. You can see simulated shots at the link below, in which you can clearly say a bus stop, garbage can and melting snow at 5cm, and though noticeably crisper at 1cm, the 5cm still seems good enough for significant intel.
Since any further gains in resolution provided by a balloon are negligible, and the diplomatic downsides of the balloon being discovered to have cameras is so extremely negative, not just from the U.S. but from all of NATO, it's very unlikely there are cameras on the balloon. That being said, China could have been testing the waters with a dummy balloon, but hey, they already did so 3x with Trump.
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