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Merged Chinese balloon raises hackles in US

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So something was shot down over Canada. Yukon. Ordered by Trudeau, US and Canadian fighters intercepted. US shot it down.

www.cnn.com

US jet shoots down 'unidentified object' over northern Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that an "unidentified object" had been shot down by a US fighter jet over Canadian airspace on his orders.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
 
So have the Chinese figured out that they can get us to use up a $400,000 air-to-air missile by launching a $400 balloon at us?
 
Canadian defense minister says it was cylindrical but they are not using the word balloon on these smaller ones. I wish they'd show pictures. They must have pictures of these smaller ones.

www.cnn.com

Video: Canadian defense minister describes object that was shot down by NORAD | CNN

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand shares what she knows about the unidentified object that was shot down by NORAD over Canada. CNN's Arlette Saenz reports.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com
 
The one shot down by the Aleutian Islands has been described as about the size of a VW Bug. This one small and cylindrical. Both, like the first shot down by a Sidewinder X
 
Bomb#20 said:
So have the Chinese figured out that they can get us to use up a $400,000 air-to-air missile by launching a $400 balloon at us?
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Not to mention all the productivity loss because of all the tv shows, articles, etc focused on it.
 
Bomb#20 said:
So have the Chinese figured out that they can get us to use up a $400,000 air-to-air missile by launching a $400 balloon at us?
Click to expand...
Balloons like what we shot down aren't $400. You'll pay a lot more than that just for the balloon, let alone the electronics package it carried.
 
bilby said:
Loren Pechtel said:
Disagree
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I am not sure it's even possible to disagree with a question.

I think what you meant was:

"Yes, small businesses can operate without dealing with the PLA. That's not possible for anybody big, though".
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I was addressing your answer to the question, not the question itself. Your restatement of my answer is functionally the same as my answer.
 
Loren Pechtel said:
Bomb#20 said:
So have the Chinese figured out that they can get us to use up a $400,000 air-to-air missile by launching a $400 balloon at us?
Click to expand...
Balloons like what we shot down aren't $400. You'll pay a lot more than that just for the balloon, let alone the electronics package it carried.
Click to expand...
$400,000 though? A $4,000 balloon would still be a good investment, to get your adversary to waste $400,000.
 
Loren Pechtel said:
Bomb#20 said:
So have the Chinese figured out that they can get us to use up a $400,000 air-to-air missile by launching a $400 balloon at us?
Click to expand...
Balloons like what we shot down aren't $400. You'll pay a lot more than that just for the balloon, let alone the electronics package it carried.
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What we shot down off South Carolina, sure; but they haven't told us what the thing in Canada was yet. More important, we appear to be shooting stuff down first and trying to figure out what it was afterwards. If I were the CCP and I saw the U.S. do that I'd be launching $400 balloons to see how many AIMs I could take out.
 
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Meanwhile, the GOP reacts with rage over over-reacting President Biden who is recklessly attacking things and will drive the US into war.
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Exactly. First, it was "you did it too late." Now, it's "you did it too early!"
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The correct answer is "there is nothing he can do that will not be spun on".

The issue is that the GOP has practice doing this distraction circus and damning if he does, damning if he doesn't, and there is no way to respond to it, because there isn't anything there to respond and to, and if any response does come "damn dude, it was just a joke, don't you have a sense of humor?"
 
Besides the Chinese balloon, the US has now shot down three more of the smaller types, which they are now calling "balloons". The smaller objects were in airspace that made them a hazard to commercial and civilian aircraft. The latest one, which was shot down over Lake Huron, was earlier spotted over Montana briefly.

‘Unidentified object’ downed over Lake Huron, 3rd this week​

 
Tigers! said:
Why is there sudden festival of balloons across North America?
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My guess is that there's nothing new happening here, but that the media have just recently started talking about it.

Probably inspired by the Russian propaganda machine, which is keen to put China and the US at loggerheads, partly to distract Americans from what Russia is doing in Ukraine, and partly to encourage China to move away from the US and towards Russia with respect particularly to arms sales questions.

It's also partly the Baader-Meinhoff effect. Once you start looking for Chinese balloons, suddenly you're seeing them everywhere.
 
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