Video shows US F-22 shooting down Chinese spy balloon

[_TrXtR_]

lol. So china contacted the western news to make a statement.
Show me the china news that admits it.

You don't exist. Prove to me you exist and we can continue talking.

 

[system32]

Way better commentary here

https://twitter.com/x/status/1622027700641878016

"Some real #TOPGUN stuff here" -

Never did understand why top gun didn't shoot the balloon down when it entered US air-space Pacific/Alaska.

 

[Wut]

"Some real #TOPGUN stuff here" -

Never did understand why top gun didn't shoot the balloon down when it entered US air-space Pacific/Alaska.
View attachment 1470431

 

[Fulcrum29]

Lol. How do you miss a balloon

The signature to shoot at is incredibly small to put it simple.

 

[Fulcrum29]

lol. So china contacted the western news to make a statement.
Show me the china news that admits it.

I posted both Chinese Ministry links in another thread.

 

[dualmeister]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1622221153405116417

 

[BBSA]

You're allowing facts to get in the way of a good story. Americans are such idiots! Didn't you know?

Where do you live?

 

[ghaye]

I'm in Cape Town.

 

[Pak Fa Fui]

Toxic masculinity, how dare you use such force against an innocent balloon

 

[Cosmik Debris]

Lol. How do you miss a balloon

Tell me more about the targeting acquisition system of that missile. I don't know of missiles specifically designed to shoot down balloons.

 

[Whright]

 

[WollieVerstege]

"Some real #TOPGUN stuff here" -

Never did understand why top gun didn't shoot the balloon down when it entered US air-space Pacific/Alaska.
View attachment 1470431

FAA controlled airspace ends at 60 000 feet, where the balloon was flying. If it was below that it would have been a clear cut case of the balloon posing a risk to aviation, and would probably have been shot down. Above 60 000 feet there is no clear indication where a countries sovereign airspace ends - this could have factored into the decision whether to shoot it down or not.

Out of interest, the highest a non-military aircraft flies is about 55 000 feet.

 

[grok]

FAA controlled airspace ends at 60 000 feet, where the balloon was flying. If it was below that it would have been a clear cut case of the balloon posing a risk to aviation, and would probably have been shot down. Above 60 000 feet there is no clear indication where a countries sovereign airspace ends - this could have factored into the decision whether to shoot it down or not.

Out of interest, the highest a non-military aircraft flies is about 55 000 feet.

So the deduction can be made that the balloon was a military aricraft then..

 

[WollieVerstege]

So the deduction can be made that the balloon was a military aricraft then..

No, most of these types of balloons fly at 60 000 feet and higher.

What I am saying is, if the balloon were to drop below 60 000 feet it could pose a threat to aviation and the US would be justified in shooting it down immediately, because some private aircraft can fly up to 55 000 feet.

 

[system32]

No, most of these types of balloons fly at 60 000 feet and higher.

What I am saying is, if the balloon were to drop below 60 000 feet it could pose a threat to aviation and the US would be justified in shooting it down immediately, because some private aircraft can fly up to 55 000 feet.

AFAIK, the balloon was at 85,000 feet whilst over US mainland - above 60,000 feet is considered uncontrolled air space.
Shooting the balloon down in uncontrolled air space is not good PR.
It descended ~60,000 feed over the ocean when it was shot down.

US DoD waited for the spy balloon to completed it's spy mission before shooting it down - logical.

 

[The_MAC]

Is this the replacement for the Russo-Ukrainian thread?

No? Okay

/walks off

 

[WhosThis]

You don't exist. Prove to me you exist and we can continue talking.

Does anyone exist?

 

[WollieVerstege]

AFAIK, the balloon was at 85,000 feet whilst over US mainland - above 60,000 feet is considered uncontrolled air space.
Shooting the balloon down in uncontrolled air space is not good PR.
It descended ~60,000 feed over the ocean when it was shot down.

US DoD waited for the spy balloon to completed it's spy mission before shooting it down - logical.

Uncontrolled only means there is no ATC that directs traffic above that altitude. Whether it was in US sovereign airspace is an open question, most opinions seem to indicate that it is.

If it was spying, it would have been to worst case of spying I had seen in a long time. Military radar would have been tracking it since long before the Bearing sea, and its path calculated. If there was any sensitive areas/material in its path, it would have been removed.

 

[dualmeister]

 

[system32]

Uncontrolled only means there is no ATC that directs traffic above that altitude. Whether it was in US sovereign airspace is an open question, most opinions seem to indicate that it is.

If it was spying, it would have been to worst case of spying I had seen in a long time. Military radar would have been tracking it since long before the Bearing sea, and its path calculated. If there was any sensitive areas/material in its path, it would have been removed.

+1

It did fly float on the wind's whims over sensitive nuclear missile launch areas in Montana.
If DoD thought it was a security risk it would have been shot down sooner.