# Questions for Cecil--Chinese Balloon shootdowns **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [February 12, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662 "2023-02-12T15:39:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/1 "2023-02-12T15:39:37Z")
Why are we wasting missiles? A quick burst of cannon fire would trash them as well, and be cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/2 "2023-02-12T15:42:39Z")
Would a cannon have the necessary range or accuracy? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/3 "2023-02-12T16:00:13Z")
What kind of cannon are you envisaging (and where is it located)? The balloon was both very large and very high up. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/4 "2023-02-12T16:20:30Z")
cross-posting… > [@Trudeau: Warplane shot down object over northern Canada \[2/11/2023\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trudeau-warplane-shot-down-object-over-northern-canada-2-11-2023/979637/34): > > Except that doesn’t actually work fine. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/5 "2023-02-12T16:25:06Z")
IIRC, it would be very tough. The Raptor would be blowing by the balloon at hundreds of miles per hour, the balloon was like 8,000 feet higher altitude, not at all good odds of scoring a cannon hit. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/6 "2023-02-12T20:11:26Z")
20 mm, mounted on an aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/7 "2023-02-13T17:52:38Z")
How long would it take for the Helium to leak out of 20mm holes? Remember, this is a Bus-sized balloon. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/8 "2023-02-15T22:32:43Z")
Don’t we have laser weapons that could pop these things? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-cecil-chinese-balloon-shootdowns/979662/9 "2023-02-16T00:23:10Z")
That’s a cool application for a laser weapon, but they are currently all ship or ground-based, and won’t work well on an object 10 miles high…