[Rushy]

Apparently North America is being attacked by even more big floating objects of unknown type. At this rate, our entire sky will be 100% balloons by the end of the year. Terrifying!

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64614098

[Action80]

Can't keep those satellites aloft forever, you know.

[crutonius]

Don't worry.  Our nation's youth is trained to handle such things.

[Rushy]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64620064

Please help us, the balloons, they're everywhere, this may be my last message. And don't look at them. For God's sakes, do not look at the balloons!

[Lord Dave]

Its weird.

I wonder... are Repubicans happy that Biden is now just blasting them out of the air without any plan or good hope of recovering the debris to learn what it is?  Because that's what they wanted on the first one that wasn't shot down immediately.

[Roundy]

Its weird.

I wonder... are Repubicans happy that Biden is now just blasting them out of the air without any plan or good hope of recovering the debris to learn what it is?  Because that's what they wanted on the first one that wasn't shot down immediately.

Republicans are only happy with the opposite of anything Biden does. If Biden were to change his mind about something, they would too.

Of course, anything Biden does is wrong, except when a fellow Republican does it. Finding classified documents at one of Biden's property is evidence of major impropriety that demands immediate investigation into everything connected to Biden, including of course his heinous son Hunter  . Finding classified documents at one of Pence's properties, of course, is no big deal, it was just a mistake and he did nothing wrong.

But I suppose that's another issue. The bottom line is that anything Biden does is a grave threat to American society, anything they do can only save American society, even if it's the same thing.

[markjo]

Another one shot down over Lake Huron.  Sheesh!
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-officials-believe-flying-objects-over-alaska-canada-were-balloons-schumer-2023-02-12/

[Pete Svarrior]

Well, look at the bright sides - we will not have to worry about RE'ers claiming that stratellites don't exist for the foreseeable future.

Or, well, the usual suspects will still do it, but hey-ho.

[AATW]

Well, look at the bright sides - we will not have to worry about RE'ers claiming that stratellites don't exist for the foreseeable future.

Or, well, the usual suspects will still do it, but hey-ho.

Have any REers claimed that?
But it’s certainly not balloons making GPS or Satellite TV work. And the ISS isn’t a fun size and shaped balloon either.

[crutonius]

Well, look at the bright sides - we will not have to worry about RE'ers claiming that stratellites don't exist for the foreseeable future.

Or, well, the usual suspects will still do it, but hey-ho.

Well, they don't exist now.

[Pete Svarrior]

Have any REers claimed that?

It used to be a pretty regular occurrence, yeah.

[Rushy]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64621598

China claims the US harasses its airspace with balloons as well.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64620064

Really annoying that they're being so vague about what they shot down. Conspiracy theories are abound, from the more tame "they're too embarrassed to admit they shot down weather balloons with expensive missiles" to the more extreme "it's aliens!".

[rooster]

Conspiracy theories are abound, from the more tame "they're too embarrassed to admit they shot down weather balloons with expensive missiles" to the more extreme "it's aliens!".

Okay, but it is aliens.

[stack]

It is kind of strange. Apparently we used AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles to shoot down the balloons...at a per unit cost of US$381,069.74. The payload on the first one was the size of a bus if the reporting is correct. Perhaps worthy of a $400k missile. Not sure about the others. F-22's have a 20mm Gatling gun. I would think you could just plink-plink a balloon with a few rounds at a fraction of the cost. Guess not.

[rooster]

It is kind of strange. Apparently we used AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles to shoot down the balloons...at a per unit cost of US$381,069.74. The payload on the first one was the size of a bus if the reporting is correct. Perhaps worthy of a $400k missile. Not sure about the others. F-22's have a 20mm Gatling gun. I would think you could just plink-plink a balloon with a few rounds at a fraction of the cost. Guess not.

We don't know that the others were balloons. Like Rushy said, they're being vague about it.

Descriptions of objects:
First object - Balloon over Montana

Second - "The object was very different to the balloon, the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, and was flying at 40,000 feet without any obvious system of propulsion or control, officials said."

Third - "Officials described the object as smaller than the first balloon and cylindrical. It was also flying at about 40,000 feet when it was shot down."

Fourth - "That object was an octagonal structure with strings hanging off it, but with no evident payload."

But then we have - "On Sunday, the US Senate majority leader, Charles Schumer, who was briefed by the Biden administration before the Lake Huron incident, said the second and third objects were very likely small balloons."

So who the fuck knows. But it's aliens.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/13/what-do-we-know-about-the-four-flying-objects-shot-down-by-the-us

[Rushy]

Okay, but it is aliens.

In that case we should all be very thankful that aliens are easily dispatched by cold war era anti-aircraft missiles and medium anti-armor munitions. Imagine having an interstellar spacecraft capable of physics-defying maneuvers and FTL travel but you get sprayed by the 20mm fixed guns of a F-22 and your ship explodes.

It is kind of strange. Apparently we used AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles to shoot down the balloons...at a per unit cost of US$381,069.74. The payload on the first one was the size of a bus if the reporting is correct. Perhaps worthy of a $400k missile. Not sure about the others. F-22's have a 20mm Gatling gun. I would think you could just plink-plink a balloon with a few rounds at a fraction of the cost. Guess not.

If you look at war economically the numbers will always look silly, but would you rather shoot down a $50 balloon staring at your missile silos or let the enemy get very valuable intel? It's hard to put a price tag on knowing precisely what occurs around your enemy's military bases.

[Lord Dave]

It is kind of strange. Apparently we used AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles to shoot down the balloons...at a per unit cost of US$381,069.74. The payload on the first one was the size of a bus if the reporting is correct. Perhaps worthy of a $400k missile. Not sure about the others. F-22's have a 20mm Gatling gun. I would think you could just plink-plink a balloon with a few rounds at a fraction of the cost. Guess not.

Apparently not indeed.

https://www.techarp.com/military/us-chinese-spy-balloon-missile/?amp=1

Fact #4 : Missile Was Necessary To Shoot Down Balloon

In the end, the F-22 Raptor with the callsign FRANK01 attained an altitude of 58,000 feet (17.7 km) before firing an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. It was the first air-to-air combat kill for the F-22.

While Chinese netizens mocked the use of such an expensive missile, the AIM-9X Sidewinder is the smallest and cheapest air-to-air missile in the USAF arsenal.

It would be impossible for the F-22 Raptor pilot to use its 20 mm M61A2 Vulcan rotary cannon to shoot down the balloon, which is still 7,000 feet (2.1 km) above it!

In case you are wondering – the M61A2 Vulcan has an effective range of only 2,000 feet (600 metres). So a missile was necessary to bring down the Chinese spy balloon, and the AIM-9X was the right tool for the job.

[DuncanDoenitz]

Have any REers claimed that?

It used to be a pretty regular occurrence, yeah.

And you obviously have a link to those claims; its ok, we don't need to see it. 

Balloons are a thing.  Satellites are a thing.  F-22s are a thing.  They're not mutually exclusive. 

[crutonius]

I'm just speculating here, I think the intel recovered from the first balloon led the way to detecting other surveillance objects and whatever they're using to detect these objects is something the Chinese can modify through a data connection.  So we're trying to not give away what we know and taking down what we can while China is trying to adapt.

[Алёна]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64621598

China claims the US harasses its airspace with balloons as well.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64620064

Really annoying that they're being so vague about what they shot down. Conspiracy theories are abound, from the more tame "they're too embarrassed to admit they shot down weather balloons with expensive missiles" to the more extreme "it's aliens!".

So I watched a video of a debriefing at the Pentagon or some shit and they claimed that a UFO triangle was floating in the Us around the area.
Also, they released images of Unknown objects floating in the sky.