US jet shoots down unknown object flying off Alaska coast

Post by leucineleprec0n » Sat, Feb 11, 2023, 1:21 AM UTC

kylehotchkiss wrote: post #164

mikeyouse wrote: post #143

There's a weird set of specifications with this one since they seem to be making a distinction between the balloon last week and whatever this is; * Flying at 40k feet altitude * Size of a small car * Not manned * Didn't appear to be maneuverable * Shot down with an AIM-9X heatseaking missile What could that be? Also, seems premature to assume China again when Russia is far closer to the Alaskan coast and just as ant…

the equivalent of a satellite being hung from a balloon. "Non maneuverable" is still sort of ambiguous because these types of vehicles navigate by selecting the altitude with the most favorable winds and using controls to attain that altitude, either with a more advanced gas fill/release system or dropping ballast. It sounds like the previous balloon had a good amount of these systems so it could be aimed and this on…

Post by smcl » Sat, Feb 11, 2023, 1:22 AM UTC

jasmer wrote: post #468

smcl wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What mechanisms do you recommend for reining in, say, the NSA or GHCQ? Were either reined in at all after the Snowden leaks, or was it business as usual after things calmed down a bit? I think we have to accept that these intelligence agencies are effectively untouchable and here to stay. With that in mind I think it boils down to: who can do the most harm by spying on you: - a country thousands of miles away which y…

They are 'touchable', there is oversight, and their powers are very limited. Give me an example of Americans who have been materially harmed by those agencies? And what was the damage? Have Americans been oppressed, slandered for political gain, wrongly imprisoned, illegally targeted by police because of NSA activity? I think it's doubtful for anything other than a few incidents; the proportionality of these tradeoff…

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Feb 11, 2023, 1:22 AM UTC

susiecambria wrote: post #453

consumer451 wrote: post #47

> Officials said the object was far smaller than the previous balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude. "Not maneuverable" and "previous balloon" so is it fair to assume that it's a balloon as well?

John Kirby called it an object today during the White House press briefing. He also said it was the size of a small car, unlike the balloon from China that was the size of 2-3 buses. Finally, Kirby said that the object could not direct its own propulsion or direction and was at the whim of the wind. Source: https://www.youtube.com/live/rHGWmyyb9nI?feature=share

Post by panza » Sat, Feb 11, 2023, 1:24 AM UTC

JoshTko wrote: post #332

This is a pretty cheap way for foreign adversary to test our detection capabilities.

Post by edmundsauto » Sat, Feb 11, 2023, 1:25 AM UTC

motohagiography wrote: post #116

It doesn't matter what the object was, it's that America's adversaries know they can do it without consequences, and what makes them believe this is what matters about this story. That is the irreversible change it signifies, imo.