Balloons?

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/chinese-spy-balloon-spotted-in-american-skies-pentagon-says-us-weighed-shooting-it-down/ar-AA173b0R

[Utah Bob #35998]

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

so not like the  Japanese ballon bombs of WW II? 

[Pat Riot]

FROM THE ARTICLE 

U.S. officials have protested the incursion of the spy balloon with Chinese authorities and continue to track its path, the official said.

 

When did our military and government become a bunch of pansies?

Shoot that flippin’ thing down and send the occupants to Gitmo for “debriefing”. 

[Utah Bob #35998]

9 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

FROM THE ARTICLE 

U.S. officials have protested the incursion of the spy balloon with Chinese authorities and continue to track its path, the official said.

 

When did our military and government become a bunch of pansies?

Shoot that flippin’ thing down and send the occupants to Gitmo for “debriefing”. 

I don’t think there are any occupants.

[Pat Riot]

8 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I don’t think there are any occupants.

Good. Shoot it down anyway. Steal the equipment. Reverse engineer it. 

[Cypress Sun]

9 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Good. Shoot it down anyway. Steal the equipment. Reverse engineer it. 

 

We'd probably find out it was our "top secret" design that the Chinese stole.

[Michigan Slim]

11 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

We'd probably find out it was our "top secret" design that the Chinese stole.

Or that we gave them.

[Edward R S Canby, SASS#59971]

The US gov't in 1947 said a weather balloon crashed near Corona, NM and was taken to Roswell, NM.  Are we being lied to again?  

[Alpo]

If the pervert down the street is flying a drone over my backyard taking pictures of my naked wife while she's sunbathing, I can't shoot it down because it's an airplane.

 

So how come if the Chinese are flying a balloon over America taking pictures of our secret rocket sites or whatever, the US can shoot it down? Isn't it an airplane?

[Blackwater 53393]

Why not put just enough holes in it to make it sink to the ground?? 
 

Let enough lighter than air gas out of it and it’ll settle down somewhere.  Then we can take it apart and analyze all of their tech!

[Blackwater 53393]

3 minutes ago, Alpo said:

If the pervert down the street is flying a drone over my backyard taking pictures of my naked wife while she's sunbathing, I can't shoot it down because it's an airplane.

 

So how come if the Chinese are flying a balloon over America taking pictures of our secret rocket sites or whatever, the US can shoot it down? Isn't it an airplane?

  
I may not be “allowed” to shoot down the perv’s drone, but that doesn’t mean I won’t!!   

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

1 hour ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

FROM THE ARTICLE 

U.S. officials have protested the incursion of the spy balloon with Chinese authorities and continue to track its path, the official said.

 

When did our military and government become a bunch of pansies?

Shoot that flippin’ thing down and send the occupants to Gitmo for “debriefing”. 

 

Pard, what gave you the impression there were occupants?

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

6 minutes ago, Alpo said:

If the pervert down the street is flying a drone over my backyard taking pictures of my naked wife while she's sunbathing, I can't shoot it down because it's an airplane.

 

So how come if the Chinese are flying a balloon over America taking pictures of our secret rocket sites or whatever, the US can shoot it down? Isn't it an airplane?

 

That happened in Colorado.  A family had a tall privacy fence around their property and their teenage daughter decided to sunbathe in a tiny bikini.  A perverted neighbor flew a drone overhead and was peeping on her.  Daddy did what any good daddy would do, and shot it down with a 12 gauge.  He was arrested and prosecuted...and the jury nullified it.

 

Jury nullification is when a jury admits that a person technically committed the crime with which they were charged, but acquits them anyway.  In Colorado, it's illegal for anyone to tell a jury that nullification is a possibility, so I make sure as many people as possible know about it.

[Calamity Kris]

44 minutes ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Good. Shoot it down anyway. Steal the equipment. Reverse engineer it. 

 

My biggest concern about shooting that thing down is the "down" part.  I would hate for the debris to come crashing through my roof, my kids school, a hospital etc.  There is no way to "direct" the debris once you've done that.

[Utah Bob #35998]

53 minutes ago, Alpo said:

If the pervert down the street is flying a drone over my backyard taking pictures of my naked wife while she's sunbathing, I can't shoot it down because it's an airplane.

 

So how come if the Chinese are flying a balloon over America taking pictures of our secret rocket sites or whatever, the US can shoot it down? Isn't it an airplane?

Not necessarily. Depends on the type of drone. 

[Pat Riot]

45 minutes ago, Calamity Kris said:

 

My biggest concern about shooting that thing down is the "down" part.  I would hate for the debris to come crashing through my roof, my kids school, a hospital etc.  There is no way to "direct" the debris once you've done that.

You shoot it down over an unpopulated area. The thing obvious doesn’t go very fast as they have time to create tv newscasts about it. If a news agency can find it and track I would hope our military can too. 

[Blackwater 53393]

3 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Not necessarily. Depends on the type of drone. 

Might depend on how fast I can get it into a big trash bag and haul it to the dump!!

[Oak Ridge Regulator]

Use a big enough gun and there won’t be any debris 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

2 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

Take the shot.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

1 hour ago, Calamity Kris said:

 

My biggest concern about shooting that thing down is the "down" part.  I would hate for the debris to come crashing through my roof, my kids school, a hospital etc.  There is no way to "direct" the debris once you've done that.

Use some kind of charge that would leave very small pieces or something like thermite that could just burn it away.  We surely have something in the mill that can accomplish that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

In the case Cyrus mentioned, the drone was flying below the top of the fence inside the dad’s yard. That was the deciding factor in the jury’s verdict. 

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

2 hours ago, Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L said:

so not like the  Japanese ballon bombs of WW II? 

 

My Father was involved in ending that threat.

Still had parts of a couple of the balloon material, the "chandelier, rope etc. until he donated it to our War Museum.

The balloons, with their incendiary devices etc got as far east as the Detroit and Chicago area, where some children were injured or killed when they found one that was partially faulty and had come down intact.

If I recall, the assembly sheds were found by analyzing the sand in the sandbag weights on board and determining where in the Home Islands it came from.

[watab kid]

3 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Good. Shoot it down anyway. Steal the equipment. Reverse engineer it. 

amen to that - shoot it down over chicago -, no one will notice the gunfire 

[Sedalia Dave]

The problem with shooting down the balloon is not where will it land, but where will the projectile(s) used to shoot it down will land.

Reports have it at an altitude of around 40,000 ft.  Well within the altitude ceiling of fighter aircraft. If you use the 20mm gun those rounds will impact earth tens of miles from where they were fired. 

 

Use a surface to air or air to air missile and you have the same problem. Fragments of the missile will land tens of miles from the impact point. 

 

News reports claim that it is not a hazard to commercial aviation yet a lot of aircraft cruise at or above 40,000 ft. A quick check shows no aircraft above 50,000 ft. Normally balloons of this type are above 80,000 feet and I suspect that if this one was above 60K it would have never made the news. My guess is that it got the attention of somebody when it made its way onto a flight briefing. 

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

5 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

If you use the 20mm gun those rounds will impact earth tens of miles from where they were fired. 

 

Use a surface to air or air to air missile and you have the same problem. Fragments of the missile will land tens of miles from the impact point. 

Bingo!  I got involved with an attempt to set up a new gunnery range for the AH-64. By the time we completed the What-If List and saw just how far errant projectiles travelled, the idea quickly faded. 
 

Uncle Sam will not be willing to play the odds of a stray 20mm doing damage, no matter how remote. 

[Lawdog Dago Dom]

Seems like they want our attention drawn into the sky.

From something going on somewhere else?

[Pat Riot]

I am quite sure we have the ability to take it down without other collateral damage. At the very least, use a directed EMI pulse against it so it’s rendered inoperative. We have that technology…unless of course some inept president allowed it to be mothballed. 

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

I say we send Maverick and Goose, or whoever, up and one of them opens the window and blast that sucker with a good ol Roman candle.

In theory, couldn’t they make a giant firework in a launch tube that would disintegrate upon impact like a bottle rocket? But some #7 shot in for good measure?

There will likely be more of these….

[Utah Bob #35998]

15 minutes ago, Dirty Dan Dawkins said:

I say we send Maverick and Goose, or whoever, up and one of them opens the window and blast that sucker with a good ol Roman candle.

In theory, couldn’t they make a giant firework in a launch tube that would disintegrate upon impact like a bottle rocket? But some #7 shot in for good measure?

There will likely be more of these….

But then whatever equipment the baloon is carrying plummets to terra firma and plonks a citizen on the head, sparking another spate of personal injury lawyers commercials.

[Barry Sloe]

Maybe they are just looking at all the agricultural land that they have purchased in the last few years. 

 

BS

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

12 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

FROM THE ARTICLE 

U.S. officials have protested the incursion of the spy balloon with Chinese authorities and continue to track its path, the official said.

 

When did our military and government become a bunch of pansies?

Shoot that flippin’ thing down and send the occupants to Gitmo for “debriefing”. 

It’s just an unmanned balloon, no crew, probably electronics.  There is concern that the debris could hurt somebody.  A sheep maybe.

[Badlands Bob #61228]

Probably a lost weather balloon from the Ding Dong High School science class in Northern China.  

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

13 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

If that revolver can shoot 7miles up you have .0000000015678 chance of hitting it.

 

maybe I need a few more zeroes. Bet me a dollar against those odds and I’ll be sure to pay off the bet.

[PowderRiverCowboy]

12 hours ago, Calamity Kris said:

 

My biggest concern about shooting that thing down is the "down" part.  I would hate for the debris to come crashing through my roof, my kids school, a hospital etc.  There is no way to "direct" the debris once you've done that.

 

 

Its Montana , I will buy the Cow it lands on , Butcher it and give to a church 

2 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

I am quite sure we have the ability to take it down without other collateral damage. At the very least, use a directed EMI pulse against it so it’s rendered inoperative. We have that technology…unless of course some inept president allowed it to be mothballed. 

 

 

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