4 flying objects have been shot down over North America: “Spy balloons and UFOs up to no good” (1 Viewer)

[The Z Machine]

I think people are incorrectly lumping in all objects as balloons. There are clearly two different types of objects per the govt.

It's the non-balloon objects that I'm more interested in...and for some reason the US is destroying them without really knowing what they are...or maybe they do and just aren't telling us.

or maybe they're also balloons. Just smaller.

 

[massraider]

Why the U.S. Is Suddenly Shooting Down So Many Balloons

The U.S. military keeps detecting balloons and unidentified objects over America, thanks to adjustments in the calibration of the sensors that patrol our skies.

jalopnik.com

“[R]adars essentially filter out information based on speed. So you can set various gates, we call them velocity gates, that allow us to filter out low-speed clutter. So if you have radars on all the time [...] looking at anything from zero speed up to, say, 100, you would see a lot more information,” said VenHerck.

“We have adjusted some of those gates to give us better fidelity on seeing smaller objects. You can also filter out by altitude. And so, with some adjustments, we’ve been able to get a better a categorization of radar tracks now. And that’s why I think you’re seeing these overall. Plus, there’s a heightened alert to look for this information.”

One reason for the greater frequency of sightings is a deliberate recalibration of sensors to pick up more information. Radar systems, like those on jets or the ground based systems used by NORAD, are calibrated to detect the most relevant threats. NORAD, which was founded to watch the polar skies for incoming Soviet bombers or missiles, is designed to look for large, fast-moving objects, especially ones capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Adjusting the calibration on sensors means picking up other objects.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

If you are still one of the many millions who think the US government is good ant anything just know they thought balloons were aliens/“not of this world”.

Morons.

They did?

Yes.

 

[Jayrod]

If you are still one of the many millions who think the US government is good ant anything just know they thought balloons were aliens/“not of this world”.

Morons.

They did?

Yes.

You know UFO means Unidentified Flying Object and not aliens, right? It means exactly what the name says, not that they assume it is from aliens or another world. It is something flying and they don't know what it is....that's it.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

If you are still one of the many millions who think the US government is good ant anything just know they thought balloons were aliens/“not of this world”.

Morons.

They did?

Yes.

You know UFO means Unidentified Flying Object and not aliens, right? It means exactly what the name says, not that they assume it is from aliens or another world. It is something flying and they don't know what it is....that's it.

A few months ago a they literally said the words “ they are not of this world”.

As far as UFO- they don’t even call them that anymore. Now they’re “UAP”.

 

[The General]

If you are still one of the many millions who think the US government is good ant anything just know they thought balloons were aliens/“not of this world”.

Morons.

They did?

Yes.

I missed this.

 

[Keerock]

As far as UFO- they don’t even call them that anymore. Now they’re “UAP”.

How do they identify?

 

[beer 30]

How do they identify?

As a Messerschmitt Bf 109, all balloons grow up wanting to be a Messerschmitt. Let's not side track the discussion.

 

[The General]

Has it been pointed out that the first of the rockets fired at the Lake Huron object missed “and landed harmlessly” in the water

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Has it been pointed out that the first of the rockets fired at the Lake Huron object missed “and landed harmlessly” in the water

Why do we need to use sidewinder missiles for this, rather than just using guns on the balloons?

 

[Keerock]

Has it been pointed out that the first of the rockets fired at the Lake Huron object missed “and landed harmlessly” in the water

I think I heard these Messerschmitt Bf 109s don't have a heat or radar profile, so it's line of sight aiming instead of "seek" targeting.

 

[Doug B]

Has it been pointed out that the first of the rockets fired at the Lake Huron object missed “and landed harmlessly” in the water

Why do we need to use sidewinder missiles for this, rather than just using guns on the balloons?

Short answer: Guns don't work on high-altitude balloons. Not like people might think. What you get is a slow-leaker that stays up a while and ends up who-knows-where.

The missile's warhead breaks in a ring-shaped formation that effectively slices through the balloon's envelope.

 

[The General]

Shooting balloons is hard!

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Shooting balloons is hard!

I'll admit I never did well at the county fair.

 

[Blick]

Shooting balloons is hard!

Total dart throw.

 

[fatness]

If you are still one of the many millions who think the US government is good ant anything just know they thought balloons were aliens/“not of this world”.

Morons.

They did?

Yes.

You know UFO means Unidentified Flying Object and not aliens, right? It means exactly what the name says, not that they assume it is from aliens or another world. It is something flying and they don't know what it is....that's it.

A few months ago a they literally said the words “ they are not of this world”.

As far as UFO- they don’t even call them that anymore. Now they’re “UAP”.

I'm not sure what you mean by the bolded. The first huge balloon was about 17 days ago if I remember correctly.

 

[fatness]

They're recovered the balloon's "priority sensors" from the Atlantic.
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/14/1156...ority-sensors-military-salvage-south-carolina

Crews using salvage equipment successfully have retrieved important elements of the Chinese balloon that was shot down off the South Carolina coast 10 days ago, the U.S. military says.

"Crews have been able to recover significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified as well as large sections of the structure," U.S. Northern Command said. The recovery operation has included the use of a crane to bring up large pieces of the airship, which was kept aloft by a balloon estimated to be up to 200 feet tall.

 

[fatness]

The U.S. does not believe that the three unidentified objects shot down over North America last weekend were from China or posed a national security threat, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday.

“We don’t see anything that points right now to being part of [China’s] spy balloon program,” Kirby told reporters. It’s unlikely the objects were used in “intelligence collection against the United States of any kind — that’s the indication now,” he added.
Intelligence officials believe the objects, which were shot down a week after a Chinese spy balloon was downed off the coast of South Carolina, could be “tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” he said.

 

[TripItUp]

The U.S. does not believe that the three unidentified objects shot down over North America last weekend were from China or posed a national security threat, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday.

“We don’t see anything that points right now to being part of [China’s] spy balloon program,” Kirby told reporters. It’s unlikely the objects were used in “intelligence collection against the United States of any kind — that’s the indication now,” he added.
Intelligence officials believe the objects, which were shot down a week after a Chinese spy balloon was downed off the coast of South Carolina, could be “tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” he said.

this is what I've been saying...so why are we blowing them to smithereens?

 

[TripItUp]

And can we change the title of the thread...the balloon is by far the least interesting of what's going on here.

I'm more interested in the cylindrical objects the size of a car that nobody seems to know what they are and where they are from.

The title is misleading at best.

 

[fatness]

this is what I've been saying...so why are we blowing them to smithereens?

They (the last 3) were at altitudes that could impact plane flights, and they (the objects) couldn't be contacted to tell them to change course.

 

[TripItUp]

this is what I've been saying...so why are we blowing them to smithereens?

They (the last 3) were at altitudes that could impact plane flights, and they (the objects) couldn't be contacted to tell them to change course.

ahhhhh...they did say that but I didn't connect those dots.

For any aviators out there, can't planes fly around metal objects floating in the sky?

 

[The General]

this is what I've been saying...so why are we blowing them to smithereens?

They (the last 3) were at altitudes that could impact plane flights, and they (the objects) couldn't be contacted to tell them to change course.

ahhhhh...they did say that but I didn't connect those dots.

For any aviators out there, can't planes fly around metal objects floating in the sky?

From what I have read these objects are moving very slowly and the planes shooting them down are not. The F-22 does capture photos (this was from a talking head I saw in some interview) so they have pictures that they aren't sharing.

 

[Osaurus]

I keep humming this every time I open this thread.

 

[belljr]

this is what I've been saying...so why are we blowing them to smithereens?

They (the last 3) were at altitudes that could impact plane flights, and they (the objects) couldn't be contacted to tell them to change course.

ahhhhh...they did say that but I didn't connect those dots.

For any aviators out there, can't planes fly around metal objects floating in the sky?

if you're a commercial jet flying at 500 knots and you don't know it's actually there then it might be too late. It's not like the plane has auto breaking like a Tesla. Now if they are on radar and ATC knows it's there of course you can maneuver around it

 

[massraider]

Shooting balloons is hard!

I find it easy, and I have a Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet bandana somewhere as proof.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

If you are still one of the many millions who think the US government is good ant anything just know they thought balloons were aliens/“not of this world”.

Morons.

They did?

Yes.

You know UFO means Unidentified Flying Object and not aliens, right? It means exactly what the name says, not that they assume it is from aliens or another world. It is something flying and they don't know what it is....that's it.

A few months ago a they literally said the words “ they are not of this world”.

As far as UFO- they don’t even call them that anymore. Now they’re “UAP”.

I'm not sure what you mean by the bolded. The first huge balloon was about 17 days ago if I remember correctly.

I’m speculating that all these alleged “ufo/uaps” they’ve been talking about for the past few years have likely just been these Chinese ballon’s/spy junk.


Congress Admits UFOs Not ‘Man-Made,’ Says ‘Threats’ Increasing ‘Exponentially’


Not made on this earth’: Top-secret Pentagon UFO task force reportedly expected to reveal some findings

 

[Faust]

China calls Ohio train crash OhioChernobyl as it mocks US for caring too much about spy balloon

 

[Desert_Power]

China calls Ohio train crash OhioChernobyl as it mocks US for caring too much about spy balloon

Hopefully we can all agree this is stupid.

 

[fatness]

I’m speculating that all these alleged “ufo/uaps” they’ve been talking about for the past few years have likely just been these Chinese ballon’s/spy junk.

Congress Admits UFOs Not ‘Man-Made,’ Says ‘Threats’ Increasing ‘Exponentially’

Not made on this earth’: Top-secret Pentagon UFO task force reportedly expected to reveal some findings

OK. I thought you were saying that in the last 17 days the government had said the giant balloon and/or the 3 "objects" were "not man-made". They didn't say that. And what you are referring to is earlier government talk about all the UFO information they released further back in time.
Thanks for explaining.

 

[Desert_Power]

I’m speculating that all these alleged “ufo/uaps” they’ve been talking about for the past few years have likely just been these Chinese ballon’s/spy junk.


Congress Admits UFOs Not ‘Man-Made,’ Says ‘Threats’ Increasing ‘Exponentially’


Not made on this earth’: Top-secret Pentagon UFO task force reportedly expected to reveal some findings

Speaking for myself, it was always silly to act like this was some extra-terrestrial entity versus our obvious geopolitical adversaries. We've learned that Russia has very poor military capabilities leaving only one other result...

 

[fatness]

U.S. tracked China spy balloon from launch on Hainan Island along unusual path

The Chinese were trying to send the balloon to Guam and the sudden cold front and jet stream combined to turn it north towards Alaska. Oops, we can't control our aircraft, lol.

From then on they seem to have decided to let it go where it goes until they could control it again, and then start gazing at nuclear facilities in the US.
Good job, Professor Marvel.

By the time a Chinese spy balloon crossed into American airspace late last month, U.S. military and intelligence agencies had been tracking it for nearly a week, watching as it lifted off from its home base on Hainan Island near China’s south coast. U.S. monitors watched as the balloon settled into a flight path that would appear to have taken it over the U.S. territory of Guam. But somewhere along that easterly route, the craft took an unexpected northern turn

Around Jan. 24, when the balloon would have been roughly about 1,000 miles south of Japan, model simulations show it began to gain speed and rapidly veer north. This would have been in response to a strong cold front that had unleashed exceptionally frigid air over northern China, the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Ordinarily, atmospheric steering motions would have kept the balloon on much more of a west to east course, historical weather data shows. However, the intense cold front forced the jet stream and high altitude steering currents to dip south and may have scooped the balloon northward.

 

[fatness]

Why missles were used to shoot down the objects instead of bullets.

"You can fill a balloon full of bullet holes, and it's going to stay at altitude," David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and fighter pilot, tells the Post. The air pressure that high up doesn't allow helium to freely escape through small holes, even if fighter jets flying by at hundreds of miles per hour can riddle the near-stationary balloon with bullets. Canada figured that out the hard way in 1998, when it tried to bring down a giant runaway weather balloon launched from Saskatchewan to measure ozone levels, CBC News recalled right after the Chinese spy balloon incident. "Canadian CF-18 fighter jet pilots caught up with the balloon off the coast of Newfoundland and took aim, firing more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition at it. But the balloon survived the assault, soldiering on over the North Atlantic," floating above British, Norwegian, and Russian airspace before finally crashing in Finland.

 

[The General]

this was my guess

For these latest objects that they shot down. Some balloon nerd / hobbyists.

 

[The Big Donkey]

lol Joe.

 

[The Kerminator]

this was my guess

For these latest objects that they shot down. Some balloon nerd / hobbyists.

So in the case of the Lake Huron UFO it took two $400,000+ missiles to shoot down a $100 hobby balloon?

Our tax dollars at work.

 

[The General]

this was my guess

For these latest objects that they shot down. Some balloon nerd / hobbyists.

So in the case of the Lake Huron UFO it took two $400,000+ missiles to shoot down a $100 hobby balloon?

Our tax dollars at work.

Perhaps. If they wait and let it float around people lose their minds

 

[fatness]

this was my guess

For these latest objects that they shot down. Some balloon nerd / hobbyists.

So in the case of the Lake Huron UFO it took two $400,000+ missiles to shoot down a $100 hobby balloon?

Our tax dollars at work.

What's the cheaper way you recommend? Bullets don't work.

 

[fatness]

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade has entered the chat.

The club’s silver-coated, party-style, “pico balloon” reported its last position on Feb. 10 at 38,910 ft. off the west coast of Alaska, and a popular forecasting tool—the HYSPLIT model provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—projected the cylindrically shaped object would be floating high over the central part of the Yukon Territory on Feb. 11. That is the same day a Lockheed Martin F-22 shot down an unidentified object of a similar description and altitude in the same general area.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

this was my guess

For these latest objects that they shot down. Some balloon nerd / hobbyists.

So in the case of the Lake Huron UFO it took two $400,000+ missiles to shoot down a $100 hobby balloon?

Our tax dollars at work.

Perhaps. If they wait and let it float around people lose their minds

Yes, because then we would look "soft".

 

[ChiefD]

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade has entered the chat.

The club’s silver-coated, party-style, “pico balloon” reported its last position on Feb. 10 at 38,910 ft. off the west coast of Alaska, and a popular forecasting tool—the HYSPLIT model provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—projected the cylindrically shaped object would be floating high over the central part of the Yukon Territory on Feb. 11. That is the same day a Lockheed Martin F-22 shot down an unidentified object of a similar description and altitude in the same general area.

That’s pretty awesome. Had no idea that was a hobby.

 

[The Kerminator]

this was my guess

For these latest objects that they shot down. Some balloon nerd / hobbyists.

So in the case of the Lake Huron UFO it took two $400,000+ missiles to shoot down a $100 hobby balloon?

Our tax dollars at work.

What's the cheaper way you recommend? Bullets don't work.

Ooooh, I don't know. Maybe don't get trigger happy on a hobby balloon.

And let's add in the costs we are now sinking in to recovery these balloons in Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron. Wonder what the tab will be for that?

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Did you not read the numerous reports that the US was able to jam their capabilities?

But maybe you know more about this than the military experts.

Everybody jumped down my throat for pointing out that we probably shouldn't take statements like this at face value. Now the military is shooting down hobby balloons because it apparently can't distinguish them from spy balloons.

Can we just admit that the government obviously got caught with its pants down here?

 

[Max Power]

I think people are severely underestimating our radar capabilities.

The vibe I get is that the gov/mil is playing dumb to play dumb.

 

[The General]

The balloon clubs are probably going to need to start needing to do some paperwork moving forward before launching stuff up to 25k feet.

 

[ChicoCat]

I just sold all my stock in THAI FLOATING LANTERN INC.

 

[The General]

I think people are severely underestimating our radar capabilities.

The vibe I get is that the gov/mil is playing dumb to play dumb.

They can find stuff, very small objects, if they are looking in the right area. That is impressive. They perhaps can tell if it is communicating determine if it is a danger, that Is very impressive. To what level they can do this or with how much certainty I get is some cloak and dagger info.

At some point a pilot has to get eyes on things. It seems a giant balloon can be floated by a hobbyist and a pilot has no clue when flying by at Mach 1 unless the thing is shaped like Snoopy or has a Used Car Lot sign on it.

So if we don’t know what it is, and it is floating towards commercial aircraft we ate just going to shoot it down.

This all sound right? This all seems reasonable to me.

 

[Max Power]

I think people are severely underestimating our radar capabilities.

The vibe I get is that the gov/mil is playing dumb to play dumb.

They can find stuff, very small objects, if they are looking in the right area. That is impressive. They perhaps can tell if it is communicating determine if it is a danger, that Is very impressive. To what level they can do this or with how much certainty I get is some cloak and dagger info.

At some point a pilot has to get eyes on things. It seems a giant balloon can be floated by a hobbyist and a pilot has no clue when flying by at Mach 1 unless the thing is shaped like Snoopy or has a Used Car Lot sign on it.

So if we don’t know what it is, and it is floating towards commercial aircraft we ate just going to shoot it down.

This all sound right? This all seems reasonable to me.

You're on the right track. Radars can identify location, size, propulsion, if its active or passive, and track the path of travel. When you add that up and through the process of elimination, we have a solid idea of what things are.

 

[The General]

I think people are severely underestimating our radar capabilities.

The vibe I get is that the gov/mil is playing dumb to play dumb.

They can find stuff, very small objects, if they are looking in the right area. That is impressive. They perhaps can tell if it is communicating determine if it is a danger, that Is very impressive. To what level they can do this or with how much certainty I get is some cloak and dagger info.

At some point a pilot has to get eyes on things. It seems a giant balloon can be floated by a hobbyist and a pilot has no clue when flying by at Mach 1 unless the thing is shaped like Snoopy or has a Used Car Lot sign on it.

So if we don’t know what it is, and it is floating towards commercial aircraft we ate just going to shoot it down.

This all sound right? This all seems reasonable to me.

You're on the right track. Radars can identify location, size, propulsion, if its active or passive, and track the path of travel. When you add that up and through the process of elimination, we have a solid idea of what things are.

At some point, and I assume this will also improve, it can be some jabroney who floated up a thing they bought on Amazon though. And now we scramble the jets to shoot it down with a half a million dollar missile.

I’m sticking with my original theory about the balloon that started this all. The Chinese messed up and lost control / had a malfunction on this thing and we were trying to figure out the best way to handle it.

I trust the folks doing this for a living for the most part and also accept that I don’t need to know everything at every step of the way.

 

[Keerock]

I think people are severely underestimating our radar capabilities.

The vibe I get is that the gov/mil is playing dumb to play dumb.

They can find stuff, very small objects, if they are looking in the right area. That is impressive. They perhaps can tell if it is communicating determine if it is a danger, that Is very impressive. To what level they can do this or with how much certainty I get is some cloak and dagger info.

At some point a pilot has to get eyes on things. It seems a giant balloon can be floated by a hobbyist and a pilot has no clue when flying by at Mach 1 unless the thing is shaped like Snoopy or has a Used Car Lot sign on it.

So if we don’t know what it is, and it is floating towards commercial aircraft we ate just going to shoot it down.

This all sound right? This all seems reasonable to me.

You're on the right track. Radars can identify location, size, propulsion, if its active or passive, and track the path of travel. When you add that up and through the process of elimination, we have a solid idea of what things are.

At some point, and I assume this will also improve, it can be some jabroney who floated up a thing they bought on Amazon though. And now we scramble the jets to shoot it down with a half a million dollar missile.

I’m sticking with my original theory about the balloon that started this all. The Chinese messed up and lost control / had a malfunction on this thing and we were trying to figure out the best way to handle it.

I trust the folks doing this for a living for the most part and also accept that I don’t need to know everything at every step of the way.

I don't know why, but I love the word Jabroney muchly.