Pentagon says it is monitoring Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over US

[pellinore]

The Pentagon has said it is tracking a Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States but decided against shooting it down for safety reasons.

Defence officials said the balloon has been watched for a couple days since it entered US airspace, flying at high altitude. It has been monitored by several methods including manned aircraft, and has most recently been tracked crossing over Montana, where the US has some of its silo-based nuclear missiles. As a precaution, flights out of Billings Logan airport were suspended on Wednesday.

Pentagon says it is monitoring Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over US | US news | The Guardian

[the13bats]

Not a balloon thats the ebil gov cover story its the mother ship.

[Grim Reaper 6]

The U.S. military has been monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been hovering over the northern U.S. for the past few days, and military and defense leaders have discussed shooting it out of the sky, according to two U.S. officials and a senior defense official.

“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told NBC News. “We continue to track and monitor it closely.” Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” Ryder said.

Suspected Chinese spy balloon found over northern U.S. (msn.com)

China Speaks Out About Montana Spy Balloon: China Speaks Out About Montana Spy Balloon (msn.com)

Montana senator says there is 'concern' Chinese spy balloon infiltrated US to target missile fields: Montana senator says there is 'concern' Chinese spy balloon infiltrated US to target missile fields (msn.com)

Edited February 3, 2023 by Grim Reaper 6

[Still Waters]

Alleged spy balloon over US is weather device - China

China says alleged spy balloon spotted over US is "civilian airship" used mainly for weather monitoring, which went off-course

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64515033

[Robotic Jew]

Why would we monitor it instead of shooting it down or retrieving it somehow?

[Mr.United_Nations]

Incase it comes down over populated areas

[docyabut2]

7 hours ago, the13bats said:

Not a balloon thats the ebil gov cover story its the mother ship.

 looks like the mother ship in the star wars movie  we should shoot it down  

Edited February 3, 2023 by docyabut2

[+OverSword]

It should definitely be brought down immediately.  What the heck is going on? 

[+OverSword]

1 hour ago, Mr.United_Nations said:

Incase it comes down over populated areas

In Montana?  Aside from Alaska and Wyoming the least densely populated state.  

[Tiggs]

Seeing some reports of one in Costa Rico, too: https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/the-americas/2023/02/03/strange-object-seen-above-costa-rica-on-same-day-chinese-spy-balloon-tracked-by-pentagon/

Couldn't say how reliable the source is, however.

[Doug1066]

It's probably just a weather balloon.

I've launched and tracked those things.  You have about zero control over where it's going.  Had one come down in a parking lot in Texas.  It had an ozone-monitor aboard.  Kept making sniffing sounds.  The local police department thought it was a bomb and blew it up.  That's when they found the note that said there was a $50 reward if it was returned intact.

We only got about half of them back in useable condition.  Most simply stayed out in the woods too long and were destroyed by the weather.

Doug

[Unusual Tournament]

6 hours ago, Still Waters said:

Alleged spy balloon over US is weather device - China

China says alleged spy balloon spotted over US is "civilian airship" used mainly for weather monitoring, which went off-course

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64515033

The only way to know for sure is to have it land (one way or another) and inspect it. 

[Unusual Tournament]

12 minutes ago, Doug1066 said:

It's probably just a weather balloon.

I've launched and tracked those things.  You have about zero control over where it's going.  Had one come down in a parking lot in Texas.  It had an ozone-monitor aboard.  Kept making sniffing sounds.  The local police department thought it was a bomb and blew it up.  That's when they found the note that said there was a $50 reward if it was returned intact.

We only got about half of them back in useable condition.  Most simply stayed out in the woods too long and were destroyed by the weather.

Doug

Apparently it’s constantly and abruptly changing course. 

[docyabut2]

It takes pictures of  our military bases.its a weapon 

Edited February 3, 2023 by docyabut2

[Tatetopa]

We could probably ask all Congress people if they want it shot down over their district. Even the distinguished representative from Montana would probably say hell no.

China launched 3 spy satellites last November, hardly made the news.  Anybody really think a balloon will see more than they do?

We don't need to shoot it down to discover its technology.  If we did we would probably find some of its electronics were commercially available and made in the US or EU.

Since we know it is there, are we feeding it selected information? The Chinese might wonder a bit why we discover it and just say meh.  Maybe a subtle insult? China losing face by not being taken seriously?

 

Of course, it may not be for spying at all, maybe it is carrying packages to release at certain locations.  That might be something to worry about.  And if is a delivery vehicle, it might have an emergency dispersal mechanism like a deadman switch that is triggered by approaching projectiles. Being over Montana does not inhibit particles released in the jet stream from being spread out and a thousand miles away in a few hours . Wanna take a chance that the deadman switch on the suicide bomber's vest is fake and shoot him anyway?  Its probably a good idea to find that out before we take it out.

And how do we know US military has not already fried its electronics and is just playing dumb and letting it go on its way? Let Chinese Intelligence wonder if it was cosmic rays or?

[docyabut2]

It should have been shot down when it  first entered our air space in Alaska  now  its flying  over TENN  getting more information on our country

[docyabut2]

Leave it to stupid Biden do any thing about it:( 

[acidhead]

 

 

[acidhead]

[acidhead]

[acidhead]

 

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

This one? It was almost certainly just a weather balloon. 
The next one? That one could be an actual surveillance device, but this one was passive… just in case it was shot down, China would say “lost weather balloon” and all signs would say “lost weather balloon” and the Yanks would look silly for shooting down a weather balloon. 

[spartan max2]

Yeah, it's weird we don't just shoot it or something 

[spartan max2]

1 minute ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

This one? It was almost certainly just a weather balloon. 
The next one? That one could be an actual surveillance device, but this one was passive… just in case it was shot down, China would say “lost weather balloon” and all signs would say “lost weather balloon” and the Yanks would look silly for shooting down a weather balloon. 

Man we don't care about looking silly lol

[Buzz_Light_Year]

A lot of people are confusing this Raven Aerostar balloon for the Chinese one. This balloon took off in Santa Fe NM and is slowly making its way east. This is their Thunderhead balloon system.

There is no way of knowing just what the Chinese balloon is at this point and don't expect anyone in authority to tell you the truth.

The company that makes this balloon has balloons that can carry 4 tons of material to the edge of space and that isn't counting their stratospheric airships that they've been experimenting with.

https://aerostar.com/products/balloons-airships/thunderhead-balloons

 

Quote

 

MISSION POSSIBILITIES

• Augment Existing Network
• Research and Development
• Tailored Missions
• Reconstitute Lost Aerial Assets
• Communications
• Satellite Alternative
• Position-Navigation-Time (PNT)
• Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)

 

As you can see with these different mission capabilities the Chinese could just as easily have a comparative system(s).