Chinese weather balloon

From the wilds of montana yesterday to shot down off the coast of NC today.

Thats a pretty impressive jetstream.

 

Dux what r you insinuating whats lol about a sovereign nation flying a weather balloon over another sovereign nation, hovering over beautiful scenery for days then jerking east at 150 miles an hour?

whats lol about a sovereign nation flying a weather balloon over another sovereign nation, hovering over beautiful scenery for days then jerking east at 150 miles an hour?

before the Yanks start clutching pearls it might be worth recalling exactly which nation regularly flew manned aircraft directly over the Soviet Union, thinking that they would be safe at extreme altitude, right up until one was shot down...

Let’s have some suggestions - what are the US government going to pretend this thing was when they find out it was just a weather surveillance balloon?

Tbf if it is a weather balloon that's a pretty impressive psyc op for China. Get the US to overreact and make fools of themselves (plus waste a perfectly good missile) and also maybe get some helpful weather data...

What Large said.  They've been taking targeted photos with satellites for years so why would they bother sending over a balloon that is effectively out of control at the mercy of where the jetstream sends it?  I suspect the answer is because it provides the US public with a visible thing that will trigger them all.

The scale of the thing is pretty impressive.  200 feet across and carrying a payload of some two to three thousand pounds.  Wonder what the Yanks will be able to salvage from it - electronics and salt water aren't a good mix...