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It's boundary-pushing. They're unmanned and ambient, yet are clearly a provocation and give China an information advantage over where it would be without the b
by elmomle 4y ago
It's boundary-pushing.
They're unmanned and ambient, yet are clearly a provocation and give China an information advantage over where it would be without the balloons, and in a geopolitical sense it asserts Chinese ascendency. At the same time, it's hard for the US or other powers to figure out an appropriate response. Very similar to Russian/NK/Chinese/Israeli/American state-sponsored hacking groups--it continually forces the adversary to ask "where do we draw a line, and what consequences do we give for crossing it?"
- markdown 4y agoSurely the appropriate response is to release some "weather" balloons from Taiwan.
- pixl97 4y agoI'm pretty sure they'd head towards the US too, but I'm not exactly sure of the prevailing winds.
- kelseyfrog 4y agoIt sounds similar in goals to the Regan-era PSYOP described by Peter Schweizer > "It really got to them," recalls Dr. William Schneider, [former] undersecretary of state for military assistance and technology, who saw classified "after-action reports" that indicated U.S. flight activity. "They didn't know what it all meant. A squadron would fly straight at Soviet airspace, and other radars would light up and units would go on alert. Then at the last minute the squadron would peel off and return home."[1] Peter Schweizer, Victory: The Reagan Administration's Secret Strategy That Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union
- anigbrowl 4y agoIf I were Russia (which is not far from Alaska) I would launch these at random intervals with junk COTS electronics just to confuse matters. The cost of each launch can probably be denominated in thousands.
- oneoff786 4y agoDamn that’s cheaper than 10 mobiks
- wheelie_boy 4y agoPart of the provocation is that China has been seen testing balloons as a weapons delivery platform for high-speed gliding munitions https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/23758/video-appears-to-show-china-testing-hypersonic-glide-vehicles-via-high-altitude-balloon https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/23758/video-appears-to...
- andbberger 4y agonah, SIGINT. great way to probe the air-defense capabilities of your opponent
- yosito 4y ago> it continually forces the adversary to ask "where do we draw a line, and what consequences do we give for crossing it?" Sounds a lot like parenting a toddler.