Chinese surveillance balloon over Montana?

[Flatbrimmer]

And here I thought I’d get some real information and gain a better perspective of the events taking place above us…

 

[schmalts]

Just out of curiosity, are you guys that are so mad at the current resident of the White House that did shoot down the balloon, equally as mad at Trump for letting TWO similar Chinese balloons cross the US without doing anything during his presidency? I trust our military enough to believe them when they say that the balloons posed no threat to our military or the country. Just maybe, perhaps they know more about the balloons capabilities and threat than us yahoos wanting to plink at it with our Creedmoors??

Well if it posed no threat and was a weather balloon why shoot it down and spend millions having the navy try to recover it? Whataboutisms are lame

 

[pyrotechnic]

Just out of curiosity, are you guys that are so mad at the current resident of the White House that did shoot down the balloon, equally as mad at Trump for letting TWO similar Chinese balloons cross the US without doing anything during his presidency? I trust our military enough to believe them when they say that the balloons posed no threat to our military or the country. Just maybe, perhaps they know more about the balloons capabilities and threat than us yahoos wanting to plink at it with our Creedmoors??

Dude, it's the internet everybody is a subject matter expert on everything (infectious diseases, wildlife management, guns, marksmanship, shooting down balloons at 65,000 ft with a rocket worth more than their home, fired from a 1/4 billion dollar plane, etc).

The only concensus these experts ever reach is that if it wasn't "their guy" making the decision. It was the wrong call.

 

[BrentD]

Well if it posed no threat and was a weather balloon why shoot it down and spend millions having the navy try to recover it? Whataboutisms are lame

Because American politics, not international politics, required it. In other words, ultimately, social media shot it down.

 

[theat]

Because American politics, not international politics, required it. In other words, ultimately, social media shot it down.

Exactly. Internal political reasons for freaking out about it, and internal political reasons for shooting it down.

 

[mtmiller]

Well if it posed no threat and was a weather balloon why shoot it down and spend millions having the navy try to recover it? Whataboutisms are lame

Pentagon said it was a weather ballon?

As mentioned, this has happened in the past and at least three times during the last administration. Where is the rage for gov't not making us aware of those incidents?

No win for this president. If he would have unilaterilly ordered it shot down northwest of Billings, the same arm chair experts here would be bitching about why it wasn't shot down over the Alluetian Islands.

I am not a Biden fan boy, but the Fox News article I read reported Biden ordered it shot down on Wednesday and military experts decided it was best to be done over the Atlantic. That is what happened.

It is embarrassing how divided this county has become politically.

 

[thusby]

Shoot it down, run over the wreckage with a monster truck, chug an energy drink….

 

[FI460]

Shoot it down, run over the wreckage with a monster truck, chug an energy drink….

Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho 2024

 

[Doublecluck]

I’m convinced the whole thing was theatrics, Hollywood media production for politics.

Logical question- why shoot a missile at a ballon creating a “7 mile debris field” ? If you have the intent to recover it? Switch to guns maverick! f-22 got a 20 mm gun, deflate the balloon, follow it to the ground with a fast boat, mark it with a bouy and bring in the salvage crew recover it whole.

Because In Hollywood, we would use a missle. The American people expected a missile. We gave em the missile. Hooray! We got em boys.

 

[DouglasR]

Tldr past page 5, but maybe it was just a weather balloon
You think their idea of psychological warfare is a balloon?
A balloon...

 

[DouglasR]

Ahh Hellro, ah party city.

 

[JLS]

I’m so confused. Should I be happy or outraged? Plz help, k thx.

ps how many high altitude culicoides midges did the sidewinder missile take out?

pps how many points will it take to draw the first 3 days of WY shed hunting sezon?

 

[pyrotechnic]

I’m convinced the whole thing was theatrics, Hollywood media production for politics.

Logical question- why shoot a missile at a ballon creating a “7 mile debris field” ? If you have the intent to recover it? Switch to guns maverick! f-22 got a 20 mm gun, deflate the balloon, follow it to the ground with a fast boat, mark it with a bouy and bring in the salvage crew recover it whole.

Because In Hollywood, we would use a missle. The American people expected a missile. We gave em the missile. Hooray! We got em boys.

I don't have any direct experience with any of this, but from my limited understanding from snippets I've read and maybe remember incorrectly is that at high speeds there is a good chance of running into your own projectiles when a gun is being used. I think that at 58,000 ft that the f22 was at your stall speed is very high.

I'm not a fighter pilot, but it makes sense to me based on a rudimentary understanding of the physics involved.

 

[3855WIN]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1621592278392340488

 

[Doublecluck]

I don't have any direct experience with any of this, but from my limited understanding from snippets I've read and maybe remember incorrectly is that at high speeds there is a good chance of running into your own projectiles when a gun is being used. I think that at 58,000 ft that the f22 was at your stall speed is very high.

I'm not a fighter pilot, but it makes sense to me based on a rudimentary understanding of the physics involved.

Why you gotta try and ruin a good conspiracy theory?

Edit: disarm the missile and shoot it thru the ballon? Leaving just a missile size hole and a deflating balloon.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

Rumor has it this sign is on Joint Chiefs of Staff conference room.

 

[Nick87]

No win for this president

I'm not a fan boy of either political party but I thinks it's gonna be hard to win when you don't even know where or who you are.

 

[mtmiller]

Depends on the ballot. Pretty obvious.

 

[JLS]

This is the first week since Labor Day I didn’t go hunting. It seems fairly apparent some folks need to get out more.

 

[Nick87]

Wouldn't necessarily say he can't win either, he had a record voter turn out. Maybe just not as of lately?