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The USA's DOD budget is nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars. Yet our air space was infiltrated by a balloon? And we had no low impact (?) way of bringin

The USA's DOD budget is nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars. Yet our air space was infiltrated by a balloon? And we had no low impact (?) way of bringing that ballon down? Moral of the story...China makes a minuscule investment in a ballon and the USA increases an already bloated and excessive DOD budget. China without going to war suckers the USA into losing another financial battle.

mlindner 4y ago
Nothing was "infiltrated". They knew where the balloon was since shortly after it left Chinese airspace and tracked it continously as it made it's way toward Alaska, south over Canada, and over the United States. (Is this thread being astroturfed?)
- lm28469 4y ago
  > after it left Chinese airspace Afaik that's false, they backtracked it to China using historical wind patterns, but it wasn't tracked from China to the US since day 1
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago
  >Is this thread being astroturfed? Some people have a vested interest in various US parties (the executive, the military, others?) looking inept. Some people have a very vested interested in those parties or a subset thereof looking competent. No need to spend money on astroturfing when the team politics knuckle draggers will do it for you.
  - chiefalchemist 4y ago
    Could be. But both parties are pro-DOD, and that's the only thing we need to know.
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  And now ask yourself...why did they allow it to penetrate US air space? Who benefits from that narrative? From that fear? Your #1 answer should be The MIC. Keep in mind, the POTUS takes a constitutional vow to protect the borders. And we get this? For a week? Stop being so naive.
  - mlindner 4y ago
    Given that Trump said nothing as 3 similar balloons did the same thing but went undetected, this sounds more like happenstance that anyone knew about it this time.
isthisthingon99 4y ago
[dead]
gregoriol 4y ago
There probably was some diplomatic game at play in parallel to the technical ability to take it down.
sbaiddn 4y ago
Look this story is embarrassing, but the intercept was free. The entirety of it will come out of the training budget the pilots don't have to do for the month. As to the missile, apparently its $400k a pop. That balloon cost millions. Cost is not the issue. Far more interesting is what was reveled. We have a political block to take down a foreign object in our airspace. The thing flew over the entire continental US. The F-22 can engage extremely fast (relative to the plane) targets at at least 65 000 ft with apparent ease (wikipedia's spec sheet previously said "more than 50 000 ft). Edit: forgot to mention. The intercept was easy because the balloon was flying relatively low for a balloon. These things are hard to kill. If it were 80 000 ft, would you shoot it down with an F-22 and reveal a very secret characteristic of it? Or use a very expensive SAM?
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago
  > That balloon cost millions. Not saying you're wrong, but... what is your basis for saying this?
  - sbaiddn 4y ago
    - Its size - its (suspected) payload - a million is chump change in aeronautics. Even if it were a weather balloon, the sensors on it would be insane and worth more than the missile. A spy satellite's sensors? Those lenses are filthy expensive. Size matters, even just considering raw material costs. The fabric is not a cheap coarse cotton garment that would otherwise have become a pair of Levi's. Its full of Helium. On top of that the balloon's size makes it a difficult structural problem.
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  The oppositiob invests a couple of million and as a result we raise out DOD budget a couple of trillion. In terms of "return", that ratio has Bernie Madoff blushing.
AstixAndBelix 4y ago
>infiltrated do you have any proof it "infiltrated"? why use this charged language?
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  Casually floated in??? But the fact that that word caught your eye and not three-quarters of a trillion dollars is hilarious. And only proves my point.
  - AstixAndBelix 4y ago
    Infiltrated means that it came into US territory without anyone knowing. Do you have proof of that?
odyssey7 4y ago
The means publicly demonstrated in a non-emergency are not necessarily the state of the art.
blitzar 4y ago
> Yet our air space was infiltrated by a balloon? Sorry to disappoint but for only three-quarters of a trillion dollars you dont get a Wakanda style dome around the USA
chiefalchemist 4y ago
And there ya go...as I promised... https://www.ft.com/content/8a2c77c3-58cc-471d-a187-1823faa4f1b6 https://www.ft.com/content/8a2c77c3-58cc-471d-a187-1823faa4f...

mlindner 4y ago

Nothing was "infiltrated". They knew where the balloon was since shortly after it left Chinese airspace and tracked it continously as it made it's way toward Alaska, south over Canada, and over the United States. (Is this thread being astroturfed?)

lm28469 4y ago
> after it left Chinese airspace Afaik that's false, they backtracked it to China using historical wind patterns, but it wasn't tracked from China to the US since day 1
dsfyu404ed 4y ago
>Is this thread being astroturfed? Some people have a vested interest in various US parties (the executive, the military, others?) looking inept. Some people have a very vested interested in those parties or a subset thereof looking competent. No need to spend money on astroturfing when the team politics knuckle draggers will do it for you.
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  Could be. But both parties are pro-DOD, and that's the only thing we need to know.
chiefalchemist 4y ago
And now ask yourself...why did they allow it to penetrate US air space? Who benefits from that narrative? From that fear? Your #1 answer should be The MIC. Keep in mind, the POTUS takes a constitutional vow to protect the borders. And we get this? For a week? Stop being so naive.
- mlindner 4y ago
  Given that Trump said nothing as 3 similar balloons did the same thing but went undetected, this sounds more like happenstance that anyone knew about it this time.

isthisthingon99 4y ago

[dead]

gregoriol 4y ago

There probably was some diplomatic game at play in parallel to the technical ability to take it down.

sbaiddn 4y ago

Look this story is embarrassing, but the intercept was free. The entirety of it will come out of the training budget the pilots don't have to do for the month. As to the missile, apparently its $400k a pop. That balloon cost millions. Cost is not the issue. Far more interesting is what was reveled. We have a political block to take down a foreign object in our airspace. The thing flew over the entire continental US. The F-22 can engage extremely fast (relative to the plane) targets at at least 65 000 ft with apparent ease (wikipedia's spec sheet previously said "more than 50 000 ft). Edit: forgot to mention. The intercept was easy because the balloon was flying relatively low for a balloon. These things are hard to kill. If it were 80 000 ft, would you shoot it down with an F-22 and reveal a very secret characteristic of it? Or use a very expensive SAM?

AnimalMuppet 4y ago
> That balloon cost millions. Not saying you're wrong, but... what is your basis for saying this?
- sbaiddn 4y ago
  - Its size - its (suspected) payload - a million is chump change in aeronautics. Even if it were a weather balloon, the sensors on it would be insane and worth more than the missile. A spy satellite's sensors? Those lenses are filthy expensive. Size matters, even just considering raw material costs. The fabric is not a cheap coarse cotton garment that would otherwise have become a pair of Levi's. Its full of Helium. On top of that the balloon's size makes it a difficult structural problem.
chiefalchemist 4y ago
The oppositiob invests a couple of million and as a result we raise out DOD budget a couple of trillion. In terms of "return", that ratio has Bernie Madoff blushing.

AstixAndBelix 4y ago

>infiltrated do you have any proof it "infiltrated"? why use this charged language?

chiefalchemist 4y ago
Casually floated in??? But the fact that that word caught your eye and not three-quarters of a trillion dollars is hilarious. And only proves my point.
- AstixAndBelix 4y ago
  Infiltrated means that it came into US territory without anyone knowing. Do you have proof of that?

odyssey7 4y ago

The means publicly demonstrated in a non-emergency are not necessarily the state of the art.

blitzar 4y ago

> Yet our air space was infiltrated by a balloon? Sorry to disappoint but for only three-quarters of a trillion dollars you dont get a Wakanda style dome around the USA

chiefalchemist 4y ago

And there ya go...as I promised... https://www.ft.com/content/8a2c77c3-58cc-471d-a187-1823faa4f1b6 https://www.ft.com/content/8a2c77c3-58cc-471d-a187-1823faa4f...