4 ms·

What keeps a cannon from working? That would already reduce the costs by a lot, and from the visual identification it seems that 40,000 feet is well within the

by rocqua 4y ago

What keeps a cannon from working? That would already reduce the costs by a lot, and from the visual identification it seems that 40,000 feet is well within the flight ceiling of fighter jets

adolph 4y ago
Why Shooting Down China’s Spy Balloon Over The U.S. Is More Complicated Than It Seems https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/why-shooting-down-chinas-spy-balloon-over-the-u-s-is-more-complicated-than-it-seems https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/why-shooting-down-chin... See also: F-22 Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off Carolinas With Missile (Updated) https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon-off-carolinas-with-missile https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-chine... 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 https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/u-2-spy-planes-snooped... F-22 Shoots Down “Object” Flying High Over Alaskan Waters https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-new-object-flying-high-over-alaskan-waters https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-new-o... The Soviets Built Bespoke Balloon-Killer Planes During The Cold War https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-soviets-built-bespoke-balloon-killer-planes-during-the-cold-war https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-soviets-built-besp...
nradov 4y ago
Cannons are very short range. The fighter would have to approach the balloon at a high closure rate, creating some risk of a mid-air collision. With a missile, the pilot can shoot from several miles out and never has to fly directly at the target. So, it's much safer.
- hotpotamus 4y ago
  The closure rate thing reminds me of a great scene in The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob steals the Wright Flyer and they scramble jets to get him. After blowing by the Flyer too fast, the pilots get out and walk after it.
dharmab 4y ago
Balloons and airships aren't easily downed by gunfire- the holes create slow leaks that can take days or weeks to deflate the balloon. Fighter jets' guns are mostly an air-to-ground weapon these days.
- nkurz 4y ago
  > the holes create slow leaks that can take days or weeks to deflate the balloon I've seen this claim often, but I'm still finding it hard to picture. I realize it's not going to "pop like a balloon", but days or weeks seems incredibly long. The weight of the payload causes at least some pressure on at least the top of the balloon, right? Is the issue just the size of the hole versus total volume? Or maybe it's that the bouyancy increases as it starts to descend? Do you have a link that would make this clearer? I searched a little, but what I found were just assertions of fact. I did find the 1998 story of the failed Canadian attempt to shoot down a balloon with fighter jets firing bullets (https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb). This makes me inclined to believe the conclusion, but it's still not intuitive to me.

by rocqua 4y ago

What keeps a cannon from working? That would already reduce the costs by a lot, and from the visual identification it seems that 40,000 feet is well within the flight ceiling of fighter jets

adolph 4y ago

Why Shooting Down China’s Spy Balloon Over The U.S. Is More Complicated Than It Seems https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/why-shooting-down-chinas-spy-balloon-over-the-u-s-is-more-complicated-than-it-seems https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/why-shooting-down-chin... See also: F-22 Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off Carolinas With Missile (Updated) https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-chinese-spy-balloon-off-carolinas-with-missile https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-chine... 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 https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/u-2-spy-planes-snooped... F-22 Shoots Down “Object” Flying High Over Alaskan Waters https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-new-object-flying-high-over-alaskan-waters https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/f-22-shoots-down-new-o... The Soviets Built Bespoke Balloon-Killer Planes During The Cold War https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-soviets-built-bespoke-balloon-killer-planes-during-the-cold-war https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/the-soviets-built-besp...

nradov 4y ago

Cannons are very short range. The fighter would have to approach the balloon at a high closure rate, creating some risk of a mid-air collision. With a missile, the pilot can shoot from several miles out and never has to fly directly at the target. So, it's much safer.

hotpotamus 4y ago
The closure rate thing reminds me of a great scene in The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob steals the Wright Flyer and they scramble jets to get him. After blowing by the Flyer too fast, the pilots get out and walk after it.

dharmab 4y ago

Balloons and airships aren't easily downed by gunfire- the holes create slow leaks that can take days or weeks to deflate the balloon. Fighter jets' guns are mostly an air-to-ground weapon these days.

nkurz 4y ago
> the holes create slow leaks that can take days or weeks to deflate the balloon I've seen this claim often, but I'm still finding it hard to picture. I realize it's not going to "pop like a balloon", but days or weeks seems incredibly long. The weight of the payload causes at least some pressure on at least the top of the balloon, right? Is the issue just the size of the hole versus total volume? Or maybe it's that the bouyancy increases as it starts to descend? Do you have a link that would make this clearer? I searched a little, but what I found were just assertions of fact. I did find the 1998 story of the failed Canadian attempt to shoot down a balloon with fighter jets firing bullets (https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb https://apnews.com/article/268893fddde785d029d5a51b136951eb). This makes me inclined to believe the conclusion, but it's still not intuitive to me.