# The Pentagon is tracking a Chinese spy balloon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 3, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228 "2023-02-03T01:32:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/422 "2023-02-07T02:25:54Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But of course, Fox News blames Biden. I wish they would at least honestly write the headline: “Biden blamed for spy flights during Trump Administration” ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/423 "2023-02-07T02:27:09Z")
Maybe it was BOTH a weather balloon and spy balloon? Then if detected, they could say it was the one that is most benign at the time. And what’s to prevent a balloon from gathering both intelligence and atmospheric data? Some of the equipment could be shared – recording, radio facilities, etc. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/424 "2023-02-07T02:27:48Z")
That can’t possible be written by the real Trump. It has far too many complete thoughts and sentences with both nouns _and_ verbs. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/425 "2023-02-07T02:28:16Z")
It’s not a blimp. It’s not a billion dollars. It does not have the most sophisticated equipment in the world. It was not that big. It was not flying in a complex pattern. It was not manned. It’s not a spacecraft. There was no possibility of negotiation. Other than that, Trump nailed it! ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/426 "2023-02-07T03:46:55Z")
U-2 spy planes flying above the balloon on the monitoring detail. > **[U-2 Spy Planes Snooped On Chinese Surveillance Balloon](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/u-2-spy-planes-snooped-on-chinese-surveillance-balloon)** > > U-2 Dragon Ladies had the ability to actually fly above the balloon and gather multiple types of intelligence about it from its perch. "The ability of the U-2 to get above the balloon is critical for a number of reasons. Just surveilling it from a top-down perspective using various sensors could provide additional intelligence as to its design and capabilities. Even what could have been hidden within its envelope would have been important to find out. But most importantly, it would provide a way to intercept directional satellite communications from the balloon with greater reliability. This is a critical form of intelligence collection on such a long-range and sensor-laden device like this. Finally, the U-2 possesses a highly capable electronic warfare suite. Flying in relatively close proximity to the balloon, and especially above it, it’s possible it may have been able to jam any communications being sent to satellites above." ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/427 "2023-02-07T04:31:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > … > Other than that, Trump nailed it! His customary accuracy strikes again. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/428 "2023-02-07T04:36:04Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Next on FOX- is the balloon being controlled by Hunter Biden’s laptop to identify American gun owners? > **[WATCH: Fox Host Says Biden Won’t Shoot Down Spy Balloon Because Hunter...](https://www.mediaite.com/news/watch-fox-host-says-biden-wont-shoot-down-spy-balloon-because-hunter-bidens-laptop-hours-before-balloon-shot-down/)** > > Rachel Campos-Duffy told her cohosts she knows why China sent a spy balloon, and why Biden wouldn't shoot it down: because of Hunter Biden's laptop. > RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: Yeah, there’s a lot in that laptop that might have something to do with this response as well ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/429 "2023-02-07T04:40:02Z")
I was thinking there was more to it; it’s not like there were _more_ people on the ground in Alaska, that part of Canada, Montana, a large part of Nebraska (esp. the western 3/4ths), or Missouri, than there probably were in boats offshore near North Carolina. There had to be some reason they let it go; shooting it down with a Sidewinder missile from a F-22 is pretty trivial as well. [![](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Other-balloon-tracking.jpg) ](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Other-balloon-tracking.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/430 "2023-02-07T06:54:31Z")
Description and audio/transcription of intercept. And lots of obscure jargon to this reader. > **[The Operation To Down China's Spy Balloon In Moment-By-Moment Audio](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-operation-to-down-chinas-spy-balloon-in-moment-by-moment-audio)** > > Audio of the complex aerial ballet that downed the Chinese spy balloon at just the right time and place adds new detail to the operation. ---
**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 7, 2023, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/431 "2023-02-07T07:54:23Z")
Mach 1.3 sounds awfully fast for interception closure speed. One would have thought that the ideal thing to do would be to fly the Raptor as slowly as possible, so as to maximize the time the target is in the HUD and not rush things. Maybe because of the high altitude, it had to go really fast to maintain altitude/lift? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/432 "2023-02-07T09:55:46Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > so in short: hard to tell the temp of the panel, if in direct sun, they might be warm/hot to the touch, if in shadow they might be “tongue froze solid trying to lick it” … and that might change within a few cm of distance on the same solar panel. > > My guess: given the strong winds up there, it will shed a lot of heat in no time … so rather cold is my guess (which is good for production, as panels produce more when being cold) If something is slung under a balloon it will travel with the wind, it won’t actually _feel_ the wind. When you’re in a balloon the air seems still, even as you travel along with it. What it comes down to is that those “strong winds up there” will not be providing additional cooling to anything carried by the balloon > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Am I wrong in suspecting these flyovers happen all the time without incident? Not being privy to military intelligence I don’t know either way, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this sort of thing happens more often than we civilians know about. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The shoot down seems demonstrative, especially since it was done where muggles couldn’t reach the crash site before the authorities. Pretty sure not allowing local yokels to get ahold of bits and pieces figured into the shoot-down equation. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I got the impression that previous balloons haven’t travel far into the US, so there wouldn’t be enough time to get aircraft close enough to shoot. It’s quite common for spy missions to loiter around the borders of a nation, in international airspace (or international waters, if by boat) where there is not legal basis for shoot-downs. What’s different here was that the balloon was clearly in US airspace, which by treaties signed as far back as 1919, allows the US to do whatever they want with it. > [@Velocity](#): > > I’m curious why the Chinese didn’t program the balloon to stay above 100,000 feet at all times. Might not have prevented the fighter shoot-down but might have made it a lot tougher to pull off. 'Cause eventually _all_ balloons come down. Or maybe the Chinese felt they could get more out of a lower altitude even if the risk of shoot-down was greater. Or, if there were prior balloons allowed to proceed unmolested they assumed the same would apply for this one. Or something else. The only thing I know for sure is that we don’t have the full story here. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/433 "2023-02-07T12:52:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > > [@BobLibDem](#): > > > > Next on FOX- is the balloon being controlled by Hunter Biden’s laptop to identify American gun owners? > > [WATCH: Fox Host Says Biden Won’t Shoot Down Spy Balloon Because Hunter Biden’s Laptop — Just Hours Before Balloon Shot Down](https://www.mediaite.com/news/watch-fox-host-says-biden-wont-shoot-down-spy-balloon-because-hunter-bidens-laptop-hours-before-balloon-shot-down/) > > > RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY: Yeah, there’s a lot in that laptop that might have something to do with this response as well Just goes to show, no matter how silly you try to make a post, you can’t out-silly FOX. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/434 "2023-02-07T17:16:05Z")
For those interested in the legality of shooting down the balloon this is interesting and well done. Tl;Dw: It was almost certainly legal and all parties know it (even if they pretend otherwise) but there actually is a surprising amount of international agreements that bear on the topic. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/P43wVDiZs8k/maxresdefault.jpg "Chinese Spy Balloon: Legal To Shoot Down?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43wVDiZs8k) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/435 "2023-02-07T18:03:01Z")
Also the whole balloon affair (or “barroon” as certain “clever” folks in the GOP have labeled it) has caused Anthony Blinken to postpone his trip to China, something they apparently wanted to happen. So why would they cause this incident to happen and scuttle the trip intentionally? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/436 "2023-02-07T18:27:13Z")
> [@Ssounder](#): > > They found gaps in our continental air defense. I’m remembering the embarrassment [Mathias Rust](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust) caused the Soviets when he flew from Bergen to Moscow… ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/437 "2023-02-07T18:42:20Z")
I’m not going to read the entire thread so forgive me if this has already been broached, but does anyone know why they chose to shoot the balloon down using missiles as opposed to bullets? ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/438 "2023-02-07T18:47:54Z")
A somewhat more measured (pun intended) response from the DoD: > **[China’s Balloon May Have Taught the US More Than Beijing Learned From It,...](https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2023/02/chinas-balloon-may-have-taught-pentagon-more-beijing-learned-it-general-says/382642/)** > > Still, NORAD’s chief says the U.S. military took “precautions,” including “non-kinetic effects.” > The weather balloon presented “a potential opportunity for us to collect intel where we had gaps on prior balloons,” and that could help NORAD more quickly detect future spy attempts, NORAD and NORTHCOM head Gen. Glen David VanHerck told reporters at the Pentagon. > “We did not assess that it presented a significant collection hazard beyond what already exists in actual technical means from the Chinese,” he said. > “You always have to balance [the act of shooting down] with the intel-gain opportunity,” he said. “And so there was a potential opportunity for us to collect intel where we had gaps on prior balloons. And so I would defer to the intel community, but this gave us the opportunity to assess what [the Chinese] were actually doing, what kind of capabilities existed on the balloon, what kind of transmission capabilities exist on it and I think you’ll see in the future that that timeframe was well worth its value to collect.” ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/439 "2023-02-07T18:48:07Z")
A missile is far more controllable. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/440 "2023-02-07T19:03:05Z")
A sidewinder is heat seeking, although there has been some discussion here what heat it could see. The F-22 has a 20mm rotary cannon that could chew up a balloon. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228/441 "2023-02-07T19:12:03Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > I’m not going to read the entire thread so forgive me if this has already been broached, but does anyone know why they chose to shoot the balloon down using missiles as opposed to bullets? IANAFP, but having listened to the ATC chatter posted upthread, it seems like the danger of falling debris, to planes and ships below, was a consideration. So perhaps the AIM-9X missile was chosen to allow the pilot a greater, and safer, range. The transcript and recording does indicate that the missile was the _preferred_ weapon, but that other weapons were authorized if needed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-pentagon-is-tracking-a-chinese-spy-balloon/979228.md?page=23)