Air Space closed

[Al Ferraro]

  There were three more objects since the balloon was shot down. The latest one closed the air space over Havre Montana 
 2-11-23 approximately 9 PM. The department of defense said they couldn’t shoot it down tonight because it was too dark.
 
 No word from the Big Guy  ?
Al

[Dwayne Donnelly]

  There were three more objects since the balloon was shot down. The latest one closed the air space over Havre Montana 2-11-23 approximately 9 PM. The department of defense said they couldn’t shoot it down tonight because it was too dark. 
 No word from the Big Guy  ?
Al

They just shot something down over Canada.

[Brett Buck]

  There were three more objects since the balloon was shot down. The latest one closed the air space over Havre Montana 
 2-11-23 approximately 9 PM. The department of defense said they couldn’t shoot it down tonight because it was too dark.
 

   Visual ID.

      Brett

[wwwarbird]

  The department of defense said they couldn’t shoot it down tonight because it was too dark.

 Yeah, guided weapons don't work after dark. 

[Brett Buck]

Yeah, guided weapons don't work after dark. 

  They want visual ID before they shoot it down.

    Brett

[Warren Walker]

Just a thought but why cant they just shoot it with a bullet instead of a missile, assuming the modern fighters still have guns.
that way it will hit the ground in one piece.

W.W.

[Tom McClain]

Yes, the F-22 Raptor as well as the F-15 and the F-18 all have a 20 mm cannon. But not to doubt our less than decisive national security leadership, I wonder if there are new incursions by anyone except our own less than truthful defenders to make themselves look better. Have you noticed there has been no proof of new objects.

[Al Ferraro]

  They want visual ID before they shoot it down.

    Brett

  Why shoot it down? If it's foreign balloon with surveillance capabilities, why not capture it? Hock a tow cable to it and bring it in for examination. That's what China would do.

[Brett Buck]

  Why shoot it down? If it's foreign balloon with surveillance capabilities, why not capture it? Hock a tow cable to it and bring it in for examination. That's what China would do.

     You might want to be able to see it first...

     Trying the capture it with an airplane will just shred it. This is not like a Corona film capsule, it is likely extremely fragile and light enough to be lifted by a balloon.

      Brett

[Brad LaPointe]

Deploy the tractor beam !
Brad

[John Paris]

Deploy the tractor beam !
Brad

Is that what you did Brad?  I hear the last one was headed to the Beanfield......

[Brad LaPointe]

John , Stewart and I did go flying today . Not here ,over at his field on the north shore of Lake Erie .

Brad

[Ken Culbertson]

... why not capture it? Hock a tow cable to it and bring it in for examination.

 

[Ken Culbertson]

Just a thought but why cant they just shoot it with a bullet instead of a missile, assuming the modern fighters still have guns.
that way it will hit the ground in one piece.

W.W.

A gun would not deflate the balloon, the bullets would go right through it and make a tiny hole in a big bag.  These are not hot air balloons.  They don't have the internal pressure necessary to expel the helium just because there is a hole.   I also suspect they have internal compartments or even self-sealing capability. It could stay up for days.  An AIM-9 uses a proximity fuse that explodes before hitting the target and sends out thousands of rods (pieces of shrapnel).  Instant Swiss cheese.  Much better weapon for a balloon.

Ken

[John Carrodus]

"Aha. That proves what I have suspected for some time 99. The Raptor F22 IS solar powered!

[Tom McClain]

A gun would not deflate the balloon, the bullets would go right through it and make a tiny hole in a big bag.  These are not hot air balloons.  They don't have the internal pressure necessary to expel the helium just because there is a hole.   I also suspect they have internal compartments or even self-sealing capability. It could stay up for days.  An AIM-9 uses a proximity fuse that explodes before hitting the target and sends out thousands of rods (pieces of shrapnel).  Instant Swiss cheese.  Much better weapon for a balloon.

Ken

Ken, as a one time user of the 20 mm cannon in the F-4E Phantom, the F-15 Eagle, F-18 Super Hornet, and the F-22 Raptor have a very precise gun sight that is very able to put more than enough rounds through a helium gas bag to bring it down. A 5 second burst puts close to 400 plus rounds in n the balloon.

[Tom McClain]

For over 72 hours now, the Biden Regime has not explained or provided proof about what are the four objects that they have allegedly shot down. This brings up the old axiom, how do you cover up a lie? Tell a bigger lie!

[john e. holliday]

And it has been proven many times that our supreme dead brain leader could never tell the truth?

[Ken Culbertson]

Ken, as a one time user of the 20 mm cannon in the F-4E Phantom, the F-15 Eagle, F-18 Super Hornet, and the F-22 Raptor have a very precise gun sight that is very able to put more than enough rounds through a helium gas bag to bring it down. A 5 second burst puts close to 400 plus rounds in n the balloon.

I am jealous, I have never had the pleasure of using the cannon in the air, but I have test fired quite a few on the ground at paper targets.  The bullet makes a nice clean 3/4" hole just over 1/2" sq in area.  Since it will go out the other side we have about 1" sq. per bullet.  That means we will have put a hole amounting to about 324 square inches into a target having surface area of 18,092,736 square inches.  That would likely be enough to bring it down eventually, like off of the coast of Africa if it did not have any self-sealing capability.  The gun would be quite effective against the payload under it since the HEI rounds would detonate instead of passing through, but we didn't want to damage that part.

Ken

[Al Ferraro]

they have internal compartments or even self-sealing capability.
Ken

 After a round of bullets? Watching to much Si-Fi

[Ken Culbertson]

 After a round of bullets? Watching too much Si-Fi

Nope, working with the M61 to much.

Ken

[goozgog]

That sounds correct to me Ken.

  If my memory of history is right,
during WW1, shooting down observation
balloons wasn't easy even after incendiary
ammunition was introduced.
Also, Those balloons were filled with hydrogen
not inert helium like ,I will assume, the
recent version was.

  I know that the Zeppelins that bombed
London were shot at and hit several times
without any effect.

  BTW Yanks!  Let the Canadians have some
fun too! Move over and let others play!           

Cheers! - K

[Tom McClain]

I am jealous, I have never had the pleasure of using the cannon in the air, but I have test fired quite a few on the ground at paper targets.  The bullet makes a nice clean 3/4" hole just over 1/2" sq in area.  Since it will go out the other side we have about 1" sq. per bullet.  That means we will have put a hole amounting to about 324 square inches into a target having surface area of 18,092,736 square inches.  That would likely be enough to bring it down eventually, like off of the coast of Africa if it did not have any self-sealing capability.  The gun would be quite effective against the payload under it since the HEI rounds would detonate instead of passing through, but we didn't want to damage that part.

Ken

Ken, our normal load of 1000 rounds of 20 mm consisted of tracer and target point.  For wartime it would be tracer and HEI (High Explosive) and the helium gas bag would be shredded by a 5 second burst.  Much fun .

[Al Ferraro]

   Visual ID.

      Brett

  LOL, They Shot down a $12 hobby ballon with a $500,000 missile! 
Al

[FLOYD CARTER]

I read that the missiles cost $400,000 not half a mil.

Either way, that's a lot of money.  Seems like a bit of forethought would have come up with a slightly cheaper way to pop a balloon.

[Ken Culbertson]

Top Gun III - The Balloon.

Ken

[Tom McClain]

Well, it appears that our government and military have shot down a high school project.  $400,000 missile for. $12.00 science project.  Cool!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cruz-responds-biden-authorized-200-million-fighter-jet-shoot-science-project

[Ken Culbertson]

Well, it appears that our government and military have shot down a high school project.  $400,000 missile for. $12.00 science project.  Cool!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cruz-responds-biden-authorized-200-million-fighter-jet-shoot-science-project

It couldn't have been hobby related if it only cost $12.

Ken

[Al Ferraro]

Looks like these guys were really worried!😳
Al

[dave siegler]

A lot of the balloons are from radio amateurs m boy scouts groups and the like.  They weigh 20 grams or so and have solar-powered transmitters. 

they can be tracked here.

https://amateur.sondehub.org/#!mt=Mapnik&mz=3&qm=12h&mc=43.70759,-74.70703

the radios are here pretty remarkable, 

https://gmigliarini.wixsite.com/wb8elk

[Dan McEntee]

Looks like these guys were really worried!😳
Al

 
    That's a photoshop  of one of the old blimps. Goodyear has been using the new Zeppelin semi-rigid airships for 6 or 7 years now. They are much longer, have a rotor in the tail, are twice as fast and seem to be ten times more maneuverable!! They show one off at Oshkosh just about every year now, and they are real hotrods compared to the old ones!!
    Would have been pretty cool to see that during the TV broadcast , though!!

  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee
 

[Dan McEntee]

  No mention of the selfie that the U-2 pilot took of himself and his aircraft while shadowing the Chinese balloon a few weeks ago ??  Great shot, he got his helmet visor in the picture, the wing tip of the U-2, and the shadow of the airplane being cast onto the surface of the balloon!  Check it out;

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/22/pentagon-pilot-selfie-chinese-spy-balloon

   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Ken Culbertson]

  No mention of the selfie that the U-2 pilot took of himself and his aircraft while shadowing the Chinese balloon a few weeks ago ??  Great shot, he got his helmet visor in the picture, the wing tip of the U-2, and the shadow of the airplane being cast onto the surface of the balloon!  Check it out;

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/22/pentagon-pilot-selfie-chinese-spy-balloon

   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

Cool, cooler, coolest

Ken