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[King Zultan]

What if they aren't balloons but floating invaders from space, oh god it's the end of the world!

[scriver]

I warned you guys

Sorry guys we're funked



Edit: size

[jipehog]

The lower altitude is a genuine concern - if this was also drifting uncontrolled the risk of a collision with an airliner is small but real. Such a collision would also be a fair bit higher on the International Incident scale than merely floating over.

I doubt that is it. There are many far more severe incidents that didn't get this attention.

I know nothing on the situation outside of few news articles. My initial guess was that this is being used for diplomatic purposes to highlight Chinese ambition ( there are many Chinese trolls who claim that west is inherently violent while China is inherently peaceful). But now I wondering if this might be another 'missile gap' narrative since USA (which heavily relies on satellites and drones) dropped the ball on near space development.

[dragdeler]

I warned you guys

Sorry guys we're funked



Edit: size

Who's funked? The cavallery is coming! Blue ass planet dwellers.

[Lord Shonus]

The lower altitude is a genuine concern - if this was also drifting uncontrolled the risk of a collision with an airliner is small but real. Such a collision would also be a fair bit higher on the International Incident scale than merely floating over.

I doubt that is it. There are many far more severe incidents that didn't get this attention.

I know nothing on the situation outside of few news articles. My initial guess was that this is being used for diplomatic purposes to highlight Chinese ambition ( there are many Chinese trolls who claim that west is inherently violent while China is inherently peaceful). But now I wondering if this might be another 'missile gap' narrative since USA (which heavily relies on satellites and drones) dropped the ball on near space development.

There's no capability here the US doesn't have - NASA regularly sends actual weather balloons up to such heights.

[jipehog]

There is a difference between potential and doing e.g. USA won the space race but up until recently it have been relying on Russia for Rocket launches.. It certainly has or in the process of losing technological advantage in some sectors along with the market dominance and economic benefits that often comes along. 

In this case, at the very least there is a gap in detection capabilities here. But more broadly, these high altitude balloon is just the vehicle, what matter is what hardware can be placed on it and what this platform can be used for. So far I provided example inline with your news China security narrative, and while any such platform could have military applications (like starlink), these have FAR more interesting civilian applications from agriculture to 5G networks, a multi billion industry in a field with in creased competition in recent times.

But I am just guessing, I haven't read anything concrete on this subject yet.

[Dostoevsky]

The 'g' word has been uttered by a DOD official, though if I recall it was in reference to detection of high-altitude objects more than the objects themselves. And it was more of a gap in terms of absolute absence as opposed to relative absence.

“Every day as a NORAD commander, it’s my responsibility to detect threats to North America. I will tell you that we did not detect those threats. And that’s a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out, but I don’t want to go into further detail," Gen. Glen VanHerck, the commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, told reporters on [2/6/23].

[EuchreJack]

...it might also just be fear mongering for more money.

[Dostoevsky]

Money-grubbing? In the Military Industrial Complex? Say it ain't so!

[EuchreJack]

The only surprise is what they try to justify with this "gap".

I think a Battleship would be ideal coverage in this area...

[Grim Portent]

I mean, what do you actually do to plug that potential gap anyway?

Aren't weather/spy balloons pretty hard to detect with the equipment that's good at detecting everything else? Low emissions, low speed, operate high above normal operating altitude for drones or vehicles. Anything tailored to plug detection or destruction issues caused by balloons would probably be fairly useless otherwise wouldn't it?

[Starver]

The only surprise is what they try to justify with this "gap".

I think a Battleship would be ideal coverage in this area...

Only four squares. But a carrier would occupy five. And lining up a cruiser and a submarine covers six, and can potentially really confuse your opponent, for a short while...

[Dostoevsky]

GENTLEFOLK, WE HAVE ANOTHER BALLOON (or ufo).

A new “high-altitude airborne object” has been spotted and shot down over Canada’s Yukon territory, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday, as U.S. personnel continued efforts to recover the remnants of two other craft shot down over Alaska and South Carolina within the last week.

. . . .

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) had said earlier in a statement that it had “positively identified” the latest object, but offered few additional details. The organization includes both U.S. and Canadian military officials, and protects the skies over North America.

[Magmacube_tr]

IT'S OFFICAL!!!

THE WORLD WAR AGAINST THE CHINESE SPY BALLOONS HAVE BEGUN!!!

EVERYONE TO THE TREBUCHETS!!!

[jipehog]

Can we use overly excitable American posters as ammunition, last time I seen someone so excited about BALLONS was when i was eleven.