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U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

cnbc.com

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Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#261

Post by JackFr »

londons_explore wrote: post #21
mrtksn wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would have been hilarious if those turned out to be ADS-B receivers launched by plane tracking enthusiasts but AFAIK it's confirmed that those are with Chinese origin and I find it unlikely being benign because in that case the Chinese would have informed the US about these unlike they seek escalation. I also find it fascinating that these balloons were not discovered sooner, reminds me of the stray soviet era mil…

It is common for countries to not reveal that they have noticed something. Revealing that you've noticed tells the enemy about your surveillance abilities.

It’s most likely that this was observed and tracked by NORAD from the very beginning. The Pentagon had to publicly address it only when there were multiple reports by the public. There was little to be gained by publicizing it.

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#262

Post by [deleted] »

yohanshi wrote: post #158
pxc wrote: post #102

I am so tired of China being used to stoke American jingoism, of politicians making a contest of who is really 'tough on China' and, most horrifyingly, of seeing other USians online practically salivate as they fantasize about a war with China. It's some cold war boogieman horseshit. And it's depressing to watch here on Hacker News, too, any comments that question the beating of those war drums go dead. Yesterday I h…

As a taiwanese who lurks on hacker news for many years but when I saw this post I had to make an account. You are dead wrong, China is an enemy of the free world, pure and simple. South Koreans and Ukrainians would agree with me here. Especially since China has declared no limit friendship with russia

[deleted]

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#263

Post by User23 »

wyldfire wrote: post #247
Salgat wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every major country has their faults, but the US definitely has a larger surface area for these faults as the only superpower left. On the other hand, as the only superpower left, we're fortunate the US exists as a stabilizing factor for world peace, rather than colonizing the rest of the world like every superpower before it.

> rather than colonizing the rest of the world like every superpower before it. I guess the colonialism has eased up in the last half-century or so. But the US definitely did our fair share. EDIT maybe my fellow USians don't see them that way but they definitely were colonized - Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, American Samoa, Hawaii.

I'm given to understand that the Marshall Islands, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico are all free to choose to end their association with the USA anytime they like. What "colonies" does the USA have exactly?

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#264

Post by downvotetruth »

cdot2 wrote: post #91
xracy wrote: post #86

This seems like a worse idea than just collecting the thing and putting it in a faraday cage.

How do you go about collect it from 65,000 feet?

Should have been pierced to start deflating over the Pacific when it entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28: https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government.... See metal hook at the end of a rope from a helicopter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C6_pdSedow

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#265

Post by WalterBright »

LarryMullins wrote: post #240
pxc wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? It's not derogatory. It's just shorter and in some ways better specified than 'American'. I also used the word 'American' in the same post! Just didn't feel like writing the whole thing out the second time. -_-

It is derogatory. Virtually no Americans call themselves "USians". It's nigh unpronounceable (it sounds like "US Asians") and only seen on the internet in the context of somebody with an axe to grind against America (as above.)

The last time people tried to use a derogatory term for Americans - Yankees - the Americans adopted it as their own.

Some people you just can't insult.

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#266

Post by qqtt »

bradleyjg wrote: post #202
qqtt wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world should also be very concerned about the current leader in China, who is currently re-writing the democratic traditions of China to remain in power indefinitely, which echoes the moves certain other leaders have made. This is, time and time again, a precursor to using military adventurism to justify and consolidate their grip on power. If anything, people aren't worried enough. Being overly sensitive about a…

Uh, what democratic traditions of China?

Such as, term limits for those in power:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/11/592694991...

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#267

Post by eganist »

scotty79 wrote: post #226
eganist wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> US has downright militant rethoric in defense of the independent nation of Taiwan * Fixed that for you.

Remind me which independent nations US unilaterally defended with militant rhetoric and to what effect?

> Remind me which independent nations US unilaterally defended with militant rhetoric and to what effect?

Sure. Taiwan, anyone in NATO, South Korea, etc.

The effect thus far has been that none of these nations have been invaded.

---

Scotty79, I'm already checked out of this conversation; it's unlikely to be productive for anyone.

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#268

Post by kcb »

Kibae wrote: post #12

I wonder what the cost to take down the balloon was for the US (including monitoring it) vs. the cost of the balloon for China. If the ratio is something greater than 10:1, then I would say China got a pretty good ROI on a small investment.

No. The US almost definitely got the better end of the deal. Lots of pieces got to test their readiness in a live scenario.

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#269

Post by HybridCurve »

BrotherBisquick wrote: post #216
sabujp wrote: post #146

Spy balloon cost : $3k - $50k , you can even buy them on alibaba and some other sites: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/China-hot-sale-surveillance-balloon-with_60454941082.html https://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/jennerjiang/product-list/catalog-1.html?view=0 Cost to shoot down balloon with F22 $400k for the AIM-9X, ~$85k for 1 hour of flight time, so ~$400 - $500k to shoot down one balloon that cost < $50k

I wonder why they didn't just use 20mm.

Ceiling for F-22 is 'above 50k' feet. I think the balloon was at 60k.

Re: U.S. military shoots down suspected Chinese surveillance balloon

#270

Post by User23 »

Dalewyn wrote: post #137
pxc wrote: post #102

I am so tired of China being used to stoke American jingoism, of politicians making a contest of who is really 'tough on China' and, most horrifyingly, of seeing other USians online practically salivate as they fantasize about a war with China. It's some cold war boogieman horseshit. And it's depressing to watch here on Hacker News, too, any comments that question the beating of those war drums go dead. Yesterday I h…

While I agree that using China as our 21st century boogieman is very tiresome, the fact of the matter is China is not a friend of the west.

China isn't even a friend to the east. At least that's the impression I get from my Korean, Thai, Viet, and Japanese friends.
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