Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Wed 05/28/2025 View Tue 05/27/2025 View Mon 05/26/2025 View Sun 05/25/2025 View Sat 05/24/2025 View Fri 05/23/2025 View Thu 05/22/2025
2023-02-03 -Short Attention Span Theater-
Why would China use a spy balloon when it has satellites?
[BBC] News of an alleged Chinese spy balloon floating over the US has left many wondering why Beijing would want to use a relatively unsophisticated tool for its surveillance of the US mainland.

China has said the balloon, spotted over the state of Montana, is merely a "civilian airship" which deviated from its planned route, but the US suspects it is a "high-altitude surveillance" device.

Whatever the capabilities of this particular balloon, the US has taken the threat seriously enough to postpone Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China, which was due to take place on 5 and 6 February.

Balloons are one of the oldest forms of surveillance technology. The Japanese military used them to launch incendiary bombs in the US during World War Two. They were also widely used by the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

More recently, the US has reportedly been considering adding high-altitude inflatables into the Pentagon's surveillance network. Modern balloons typically hover between 24km-37km above the earth's surface (80,000ft-120,000ft).

"Beijing is probably trying to signal to Washington: 'While we want to improve ties, we are also ever ready for sustained competition, using any means necessary,' without severely inflaming tensions," independent air-power analyst He Yuan Ming told the BBC.

"And what better tool for this than a seemingly innocuous balloon?"

The balloon's anticipated flight path near certain missile bases suggests it is unlikely it has drifted off course, He Yuan Ming said.
Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-03 05:50|| || Front Page|| [11141 views ]  Top
 File under: Commies 

#1 Chinese spy balloon: US tracks suspected surveillance device
Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-03 05:55||   2023-02-03 05:55|| Front Page Top

#2 Harmless Chinese made agricultural pesticide dispenser breaks free from it's moorings and visits Billings, Montana. Highly sensitive US manufactured metering, photographic, and geo-location devices on board. DO NOT ATTEMPT to shoot down or inhibit transit.

If this craft lands on your property, contact the DARPA Bilateral Monitoring Office at the number on your screen and immediately seek an out-of-cycle Phizer COVID booster shot for yourself and your immediate family.
Posted by Besoeker 2023-02-03 06:27||   2023-02-03 06:27|| Front Page Top

#3 Alternatively...

'traveling well above civilian aircraft altitudes'

An inoffensive, low cost invasive technique for mapping holes in AD coverage. Transponder with balloon would trigger to orbital elements when illuminated.

Or...a NOAA weather balloon oopsie.

Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-03 07:25||   2023-02-03 07:25|| Front Page Top

#4 Makes sense to run several dozen missions to increase familiarity of both Chinese and Americans with exercise. Once expectations established for both sides then a sense of complacency on the US side may set in. At that point the Chinese will have another option for EMP delivery vehicles. Blue team used to hate it when I ran the OPFOR. Speculation but certainly not outside the realm of possibility
Posted by Slenter Panda4300 2023-02-03 07:45||   2023-02-03 07:45|| Front Page Top

#5 Fucking shoot that shit down. How dare the chinks spy on us?
Posted by Fat Bob Thrart2867 2023-02-03 07:55||   2023-02-03 07:55|| Front Page Top

#6 Chinese SMLM (Smellum) mission ?

Posted by Besoeker 2023-02-03 07:55||   2023-02-03 07:55|| Front Page Top

#7 Maybe those black shapes suspended below the balloon are Hunter and Joe’s next payment……40,000 feet ( or whatever
) does not have a lot of USCustoms coverage. Yeah shoot it down, but only puncture the thing so it would gently float to earth rather than an ear-splitting kaa-boom(apologies to Warner Brothers)
Posted by USN, Ret. 2023-02-03 08:06||   2023-02-03 08:06|| Front Page Top

#8 Sure it was based out of China? Trudeau seems a bit cosy with the ComChis these days.
Posted by Procopius2k 2023-02-03 08:35||   2023-02-03 08:35|| Front Page Top

#9 Mebbe not^
Posted by Mercutio 2023-02-03 08:39||   2023-02-03 08:39|| Front Page Top

#10 Less worried about spying than them dropping a few thousand used covid masks...
Posted by Mercutio 2023-02-03 08:40||   2023-02-03 08:40|| Front Page Top

#11 Mrs. Bobby reported (from her MSM sources) we didn't shoot it down because the 'debris field' would be ... enormous.
Posted by Bobby 2023-02-03 08:42||   2023-02-03 08:42|| Front Page Top

#12 /\ Exceedingly poor visual. 'Debris field' would comtain too many US made parts.
Posted by Besoeker 2023-02-03 08:45||   2023-02-03 08:45|| Front Page Top

#13 Panels suggest communications array rather than photo collection. Either gathering comm or [tin foil hat] a cell phone like array for secure communications in a very select band and encryption.
Posted by Procopius2k 2023-02-03 08:51||   2023-02-03 08:51|| Front Page Top

#14 Huawei server
Posted by Frank G 2023-02-03 08:57||   2023-02-03 08:57|| Front Page Top

#15 Frustrated Hanger #3 team continues to send out homing signals.

Google Takes Over Aging Moffett Field and Its Airship Hangars

Posted on April 1, 2015 by LighterThanAirSociety
09 Hangars 3, 2, 1Source: San Jose Mercury News – mercurynews.com

Built for an age when 800-foot-long flying aircraft carriers were the cutting edge of aviation, the colossal hangars of the Moffett Federal Airfield are about to become roosts for Silicon Valley’s latest ideas.

Google on Wednesday formally takes over the 1,000-acre site with plans to repurpose its three airship hangars as laboratories for developing robots, rovers, drones, Internet-carrying balloons and other cutting-edge technology. The company will also manage the airfield’s two runways and upgrade an old military golf course for public use.

The restoration could not come soon enough for admirers of the landmark structures.
Posted by Besoeker 2023-02-03 09:01||   2023-02-03 09:01|| Front Page Top

#16 UFOs pretending to be Chinese balloons. Has everyone forgotten the first UFOs were described as weather balloons?

The anal probing extraterrestrials have probably noticed our own trans movement and have finally decided to contact us.
Posted by ruprecht 2023-02-03 09:19||   2023-02-03 09:19|| Front Page Top

#17 ^ Send Mayor Pete!
Posted by Frank G 2023-02-03 09:37||   2023-02-03 09:37|| Front Page Top

#18 Cash Drop for the Bidens'?
Posted by Mullah Richard 2023-02-03 09:44||   2023-02-03 09:44|| Front Page Top

#19 China confirms balloon is theirs, as spokesperson claims it is civilian research airship
Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-03 09:49||   2023-02-03 09:49|| Front Page Top

#20 The deliberate failure by the Biden regime to take action against the "balloon" sets a new record for government-sponsored boneheaded stupidity, worse than the failure of NASA high command to do anything about the damage done to the shuttle Columbia days before it disintegrated upon re-entry.
Posted by Gromble Dribble4342 2023-02-03 10:20||   2023-02-03 10:20|| Front Page Top

#21 First thought was like a booster/repeater tower.
Posted by swksvolFF 2023-02-03 10:44||   2023-02-03 10:44|| Front Page Top

#22 History repeats itself? In WW2 the Japanese launched incendiary balloon attacks at the forested US Northwest: Fu-Go balloon bombs.
Posted by magpie 2023-02-03 11:20||   2023-02-03 11:20|| Front Page Top

#23 Who among you think Biden is going to take action against China when they move on Taiwan ?
Posted by Besoeker 2023-02-03 11:50||   2023-02-03 11:50|| Front Page Top

#24 Dry run, and/or not so subtle warning in advance of Taiwan invasion?

"High-altitude balloons, such as the one China has floated over mountain state military bases this week, are considered a key “delivery platform” for secret nuclear strikes on America’s electric grid, according to intelligence officials."

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/balloons-called-top-delivery-platform-for-nuclear-emp-attack
Posted by NoMoreBS 2023-02-03 11:54||   2023-02-03 11:54|| Front Page Top

#25 This spy balloon is under control, yet we've made no demands to halt it and bring it down for a simple reason: the conquered are not allowed to make demands of their conquerer.
Posted by Rex Mundi 2023-02-03 12:45||   2023-02-03 12:45|| Front Page Top

#26 Uhura, open a hailing frequency!
Posted by Angstrom 2023-02-03 13:06||   2023-02-03 13:06|| Front Page Top

#27 Because it's cheap and the lower altitude would produce better intel? With absolutely zero chance of being shot down.

But why the hell shoot it down. You know darn well someone in our chinese military has lasers that can punch a hole in the bag!
Posted by Woodrow 2023-02-03 13:27||   2023-02-03 13:27|| Front Page Top

#28 Who among you think Biden is going to take action against China when they move on Taiwan ?

Biden will never do anything that Xi Jinping does not authorize. The only hope for Taiwan is the Taiwanese.
Posted by Abu Uluque 2023-02-03 14:14||   2023-02-03 14:14|| Front Page Top

#29 Canada reported yesterday a second balloon approaching their airspace. Since the first balloon appears to be capable of holding position, and now a second one is possibly enroute, consider this a prelude to the Taiwan invasion. Multiple EMP platforms in a stationary holding position with the ability to instantly create a massive EMP pulse across the continent, and then a Chinese invasion commences, with the threat of massive damage to the US if we react? If the second balloon report is accurate, explain why this isn't very dangerous to allow to proceed?

https://www.barrons.com/news/canada-says-potential-second-incident-linked-to-spy-balloon-01675402508
Posted by NoMoreBS 2023-02-03 14:17||   2023-02-03 14:17|| Front Page Top

#30 ^ Concur. It does look a lot like sereptitious prepositioning of assets.
Posted by Rex Mundi 2023-02-03 14:38||   2023-02-03 14:38|| Front Page Top

#31 "surreptitious" d'oh!
Posted by Rex Mundi 2023-02-03 14:41||   2023-02-03 14:41|| Front Page Top

#32 No problem. All is well.
Posted by Procopius2k 2023-02-03 16:24||   2023-02-03 16:24|| Front Page Top

#33 Didn't some Burger suggest that the optimum time for crossing the Strait was March-ish?
Posted by Bobby 2023-02-03 17:06||   2023-02-03 17:06|| Front Page Top

#34 Giving activation instruction to the covert SEALS

Posted by Skidmark 2023-02-03 17:19||   2023-02-03 17:19|| Front Page Top

#35 #33 March & October
Posted by Griter Slash1619 2023-02-03 21:55||   2023-02-03 21:55|| Front Page Top

17:38 Lord Garth
17:29 alanc
17:09 BrerRabbit
16:13 Pancho Poodle8452
16:08 Beavis
16:08 Lord Garth
15:52 Lord Garth
15:28 trailing wife
15:26 Pancho Poodle8452
15:26 trailing wife
14:34 Frank G
14:28 Melancholic
14:27 NoMoreBS
14:14 swksvolFF
14:12 swksvolFF
13:54 mossomo
13:51 mossomo
13:50 NoMoreBS
13:50 Abu Uluque
13:44 Abu Uluque
13:41 NoMoreBS
13:39 Abu Uluque
13:36 mossomo
13:36 swksvolFF









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com