The Chinese espionage balloon.

[Its On A Slab]

Suspected Chinese spy balloon found over northern U.S.

“The United States government ... is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," said a Pentagon spokesperson.

www.nbcnews.com

I suppose the Chicoms don't have the spy satellite network that we have so they have to resort to less techie means to spy on us?

 

[Tidewater]

I saw that on the news. Weird.
The Japanese tried releasing balloons which dropped incendiary bombs on the Pacific Northwest during the Second World War.
As for this one, I hope we are expending efforts to bring it down and examine the sensor array. Maybe that would discourage the ChiComs from trying this stunt again.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I tend to agree with Gen. Clapper who accepts their explanation and apology. There's probably no way it could gather better intel than their satellites and they wanted this now-canceled summit with Blinken as much or more than we. The balloon would be sure to scuttle it. OTOH, I solidly back an effort to retrieve it and examine its instrumentation...

 

[Bazza]

Don’t spies use satellites now?

But with the advent of modern satellite technology enabling the gathering of overflight intelligence data from space, the use of surveillance balloons had been going out of fashion.

Or at least until now.

Recent advances in the miniaturization of electronics mean the floating intelligence platforms may be making a comeback in the modern spying toolkit.

More here:

What spy balloons can do that satellites can't

News that the Pentagon is monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon in the skies over the continental United States raises a series of questions -- not least among them, what exactly it might be doing.

www.cnn.com

 

[major tidefan]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1621562719848763393

 

[major tidefan]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1621564384198926336

 

[TexasBama]

Another one?

Canada Says 'Potential Second Incident' Linked To Spy Balloon

Canada said Thursday it was working with the United States to track a high-altitude surveillance balloon, and it was monitoring a "potential second incident."

www.barrons.com

 

[twofbyc]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1621564384198926336

Couldn’t data from those sensors be relayed? Maybe (?) their tech isn’t that advanced; I don’t understand the argument used about falling debris.
Is this thing the size of the Goodyear Blimp? I’ve never seen a ballon whose basket (or even whatever they call it) was as big as a bus. If it were shot down, I wouldn’t think anything other than the balloon itself would survive in pieces larger than a suitcase. I think that was an unnecessary scare tactic used to mislead; if the thing really is that big then I retract my comment.
But Canada just complained about another one. So this is either gross incompetence by China (possible) or a very calculated probe to see how far they can go (because it’s China, also possible). I’ll reserve judgement until more info is released.

 

[crimsonaudio]

I'd bet my mortgage payment this month this was no accident.

 

[twofbyc]

And in regards to BM’s comments: do we conduct high altitude surveillance that is NOT actually a low orbit satellite? China wouldn’t dare shoot down an orbiting satellite in retaliation for us shooting down a balloon; BM needs to clarify because if what we have is not technically “in orbit” then they would have the right to shoot it down at any time.
Shooting down a satellite is an act of war; shooting down a foreign “spy” balloon over your country is not.

 

[TexasBama]

fwiw We did an EMP test over Nevada in the late '50s using a balloon

 

[crimsonaudio]

fwiw We did an EMP test over Nevada in the late '50s using a balloon

And for all we know the Chinese are just seeing what our response would be.

 

[Ledsteplin]

"It's just a gigantic weather balloon. Move on along, nothing to see here." - The Chinese

 

[TexasBama]

Nation Surrenders To Chinese Balloon

WASHINGTON—Bowing down before the floating intruder mere hours after it entered American airspace, the entire U.S. nation reportedly surrendered Friday to the Chinese balloon spotted hovering over Montana. “Today, I speak to the Great Balloon to say unequivocally: the country is yours,” said...

www.theonion.com

 

[TexasBama]

So now it’s “randomly” drifted over the Kansas City area. Whiteman AFB?
Where’s Al Haig when you need him?

 

[Padreruf]

So now it’s “randomly” drifted over the Kansas City area. Whiteman AFB?
Where’s Al Haig when you need him?

Or Russell Cause/Randy Quaid??

 

[crimsonaudio]

So now it’s “randomly” drifted over the Kansas City area. Whiteman AFB?
Where’s Al Haig when you need him?

Get enough altitude above Kansas and one EMP can hit the contiguous 48.

 

[TexasBama]

Get enough altitude above Kansas and one EMP can hit the contiguous 48.

I guess it's possible the Chinese think "The Day After" is contemporary and there are Minutemen still at Whiteman

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Get enough altitude above Kansas and one EMP can hit the contiguous 48.

Yikes! But could a balloon carry an EMP that big? I'm not very familiar with the tech, but surely it would have to have quite a bit of size to it in order to influence a range that large.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Yikes! But could a balloon carry an EMP that big? I'm not very familiar with the tech, but surely it would have to have quite a bit of size to it in order to influence a range that large.

Don't know, but they can carry pretty heavy payloads if they're big enough.

I'm pretty sure the altitude required to have straight line of site to the lower 48 is several hundred km, I've no idea how high these balloons could go.

But they could gauge how the US reacts and make notes - a series of smaller EMPs strategically placed (and from lower altitudes than discussed above) would cripple the US power infrastructure for a long, long time. I've read that the large transformers used in distribution substations generally have lead times measured in months or even years - now imagine having to replace thousands of those, along with hundreds of thousands of local transformers...

Anyway, this is 100% conjecture. I've no idea what they're using that thing for.